Flyer returns to Europe

Dear Members,

Flyer (Swan 57/007) is returning to Europe. I have commissioned her returns in the coming June, from the USA to South Brittany (France).

Flyer has been “deleted from the US documentation, as I was intending to register her with a French flag. I am now confronted to some importation issues, as she does have any “CE Marking”.

I have then to declare an import with a potential very demanding process. To make it short, either Flyer has to go through a thorough survey to get some EU Certification or I have to provide with some documents that assert that the Swan 57 complies with this CE Requirements.

Could any of you be so kind and provide me with your experience in this specific aspect?

Thanking you very much in advance

Best Regards

Benoit Gallienne

Dear Benoit,
I have been involved too in the same problem when I asked to have the French flag.

At the beginning the Cannes Douanes demanded a CE Certificate of conformity but after having explained them that it was a boat dated 1973 and at that time the CE certificate didn't exist, they accepted just the tonnage certificate issued by the British Registry in 1973.
That'all and we had the French flag registration very easly.

Alberto
Pippus 44/011

Dear Alberto,

Thank you for your message and for sharing your experience in this matter:

This gives me hope to go through this process.

I have contacted the regional Mer & Littoral administration and you are right, even if the construction of the boat was before the CE marking regulation, there is some equivalence. I shall let you know about the proceedings of this importation 

Benoit

Dear Benoît,
I have also been through the process when repatriating my Swan 41 from the US. I struggle for quite a while and was successful at the end, based on demonstration that (i) many of the same boat had been sold (i.e. certified at that time) in France initially, (ii) my boat had not been through significant change as compared to the initial boat. I was able to prove this second point by hiring an expert acting for Cour de Cassation (expert agréé par la Cour de Cassation).
I do hope this is of some help.
Of course you will have to pay for VAT at French but I assume you know this already.
Kind regards.
Christophe

Regarding VAT:
As far as I know, if you import a yacht into the EC you are obliged to pay the import taxes in the country where your (first) port of entry into the community is. That means you are charged the pertaining VAT rate of that country, not the rate of the ultimate destination. France has 20% VAT; the Azores are on the way and only charge 18% -- lower than the Portuguese mainland. You are going to stop there anyway, most probably.
Just make sure, wherever you pay VAT, that you get an official document confirming that you have paid your EC VAT dues.
Fair winds and a good passage,
Martin

Dear Benoît,
As owner of Lianda, 57Ketch Hull #40 biuld in 1981, US flagged, I ran into the same problem to register her to Belgian flag till I could explain that she was commissionned In the UK. I still have the name of the person from the CEE who helped Me for that if that could be for any help.
Let me tell that S&SSwan 57 are fabulous boats.

 Dear All,