HMRC (His Majesty's Customs & Excise, the UK tax authority) has announced a change in the period for which a non-UK VAT-paid vessel can remain in the UK without incurring VAT and customs duties (known as 'temporary admission' or TA) - this period is currently 18 months but will increase to two years this summer.
See Government response to Temporary Admission Call for Evidence.
Legislation to implement the change will come into effect on 16 July 2025, although it is not currently clear whether the increased period will only apply to new arrivals from that date or will also apply to any vessel already in the UK on that date.
CA members should note that:
- UK TA is only available to non-UK residents, and
- this increase does not affect the corresponding period of TA available for non-EU VAT-paid boats in the EU, which remains at 18 months.
Unfortunately HMRC is still unwilling to make UK TA available to boats which on which VAT was paid before 31 December 2020 (the effective date of Brexit) and which were not repatriated to the UK before Brexit, despite lobbying from various parties including the CA.
30 June 2025