Aircraft VAT / import VAT / getting busted upon landing in the EU (merged thread)

You cannot export an aircraft without de-registering it as the new country will want a deregistration. So there will be a history of the aircraft somewhere in the administration. When that aircraft goes onto the fresh registration back in same/your country you will have to pay VAT again for importing it. So again you will get papers stating that. Some years ago we actually had a phone call from a customs officer who had found our Yak in Eggenfelden while searching around for foreign registered aircraft. He wanted proof that we had imported the aircraft and VAT paid. At that time the Yak was probably still on the Russian private FLA register as RA ***K , but EU VAT was paid when the former British owner imported it from Lithuania in 2003. So of course we had the paper from him to send a copy to the customs and that was that. So no problems later when the Yak went onto the D-reg. Vic

I think that you are wrong on this one. In the car world (which may be different?) a car from Europe is sold to a buyer in the USA and the car is moved to there for several years.
If the same American buyer then brings the car back into Europe NO VAT is payable,however, if he sells the car to someone else and they bring it into Europe VAT is payable.

But that’s really basic customs stuff. If you have a car in Munich, then you have to LIVE in Munich to. If you move to Frankfurt you have to register it there, within 3 months.

I cannot even have a car of my Czech company, because most of the time I’m in Munich, and if I’m here more than 180 days the car has to be registered here aswell.

And if you buy an N-reg airplane you have to pay VAT after 180 days too.

Just browsed through some import “to do” list and there seems to be no automatic connection between register and VAT. But, import is an official transaction that has to be signed by several parties (by the looks of it). When the airplane is flown across the border, you have 48 hours to inform customs.

Flyer59 wrote:

But that’s really basic customs stuff. If you have a car in Munich, then you have to LIVE in Munich to. If you move to Frankfurt you have to register it there, within 3 months.

But that’s a German peculiarity. Most countries don’t operate that way.

That’s not right. You cannot have a german registered car (for long) in Paris or in Prague either. And if you move to Vienna you have only 3 months to register your car there, and the fines are high. About the UK i don’t know.

I checked the UK: You are not allowed to live in England as a EU resident and drive a german or EU registered car there. The rules seem to be even more strict than in Germany.