Hi,
I am in the process of buying a Swiss aircraft that I want to be based in Belgium and will fly mostly to France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal. During the week I work in Zurich but on weekends I go to Brussels where my kids live.
I already made an offer, but I wasn’t aware that I might bump into EU VAT trouble. Anyone has experience with similar situation? I am interested to hear all your stories about non-Swiss citizens, living in Switzerland, with a HB registered aircraft based in the EU.
Thanks,
JFonseca
I think you’ll find that there are very few, if any, cases that fall in exactly this category.
That said, there are really two separate considerations, which you have also referenced. IMHO it would be wise not to confuse the two. Try to keep them separate.
1) Aircraft registration and its implications on location and operation. This should be a non-issue, per se. Switzerland is in EASA and registration and operation considerations are exactly the same as between any two EASA countries…. such as owning a D-reg or F-reg and basing it in Belgium. Perhaps there are other opinions, but you should be able to just do it, keeping in mind that all maintenance still falls under Swiss FOCA authority so all paperwork needs to continue to go through them as long as the aircraft is HB-reg. I’m thinking here about required airworthiness inspections, etc.
2) VAT. As you suspect, this needs care and will have a cost implication but does not need to be a problem if all the rules are followed. Switzerland is not in the EU customs union so it is not subject to EU VAT, rather has its own. A Swiss-based aircraft on the HB-reg will certainly have paid Swiss VAT.
- If your tax residence is Belgium and the aircraft’s home base is in Belgium, then you will certainly need to pay Belgian VAT when you move the aircraft’s base there and thus import it into Belgium. Best is to inquire with the Belgium tax authorities up front. When I imported my N-reg I consulted the Swiss tax authorities in advance and they explained the process when bringing the aircraft into Switzerland for the first time (i.e. clearing customs with it and paying VAT at that time). The Belgian process is likely something similar. This should result in some VAT-paid paperwork that it would be advisable to keep on board to avoid eventual issues, although I have never needed to show mine.
- You should check with Swiss tax authorities about your obligations when flying in/out of Switzerland AFTER you’ve relocated the aircraft to Belgium. With the aircraft being registered in Switzerland, you may need some sort of paperwork to avoid an issue with doing maintenance in the EU/Belgium. Normally, as Swiss-based aircraft (any registration) needs to declare any work done outside Switzerland when returning home. However, once the aircraft has been exported from Switzerland it will likely be subject to EU VAT law rather than Swiss.
- If you are considering having any maintenance done in Switzerland after your relocation of the aircraft, you should check with Belgian authorities about a requirement for clearing customs when re-entering the EU afterwards, similar to the previous point but in the reverse direction.
Good luck. 
Hi,
Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed answer! :) Maybe there are a few more details that I should add because I see that my address is not clear, and that changes everything.
The aircraft now is based in Switzerland and has already paid Swiss VAT. I am not sure if I will buy 100% or a 50% share. The current owner is Swiss and lives in Switzerland.
My address (including fiscal) is in Zurich.
I don’t have an address in Belgium (I stay in my kids’ house on weekends)
My EU address is in Portugal.
I was planning to keep HB registration, have it based in Belgium (or in the French Border with Belgium) and the maintenance will most probably be done in Berlin or Strasbourg. Most of the times it will be flown in Belgium and France.
Nothing is signed yet, so I can still make some changes. My main concerns:
1- VAT
Is there a risk that I will need to pay EU VAT if I base it permanently in Belgium (or any other EU country)? Is there a way of avoiding it? When the maintenance or upgrades is done outside of Switzerland, do I need to land in Switzerland and pay there the Swiss VAT?
If I pay EU VAT, it’s because I exported the aircraft to EU. In that case, when I fly to Switzerland and return in the same week to EU, will customs ask me to pay Swiss VAT again?
2- Base
I assumed that an EASA plane can be based anywhere in EASA countries.
Do I need to declare to the authorities a Swiss base for a HB aircraft?
What are the potential consequences of having a HB aircraft based permanently in Belgium?
VAT: One of the potential consequences of basing the Swiss plane within the EU is the EU VAT which will become due. However, as I read your posts, the plane will anyway rather be based in CH as you fly to your family only over the weekend?
It’s a motor glider. Just to fly for fun, not for travelling. I will continue to travel back and forward from Zurich to Brussels, but I will have my weekend toy based in Belgium 
Some of the trips that I want to do with this motor glider is to go soaring in Swiss airspace, but without landing there – just taking off and landing in Belgium.
JFonseca wrote:
I assumed that an EASA plane can be based anywhere in EASA countries.
Yes, although some national legislation say otherwise. Of course, that legislation is void as EU law has precedence but at least historically some CAAs has tried to enforce it. (Notably the Danish one, but they were smacked by the EU Commission.)
Denmark Norway Sweden ban long term foreign reg parking but probably not EU-reg parking. CH-reg parking, who knows?
EU can’t block these national moves.
I bought a Swiss based and owned airplane, but US (N-reg) registered in 2020. It used to be on HB-reg since it was bought from the USA 40 years ago.
I had to export it from Switserland to the EU through a designated export agency. No money to be paid, only some paperwork.
Then I had to import it into Belgium. I got help from a local import/export company who did the customs declaration.
Upon import into Belgium, I had to pay 21% VAT and received proper paperwork. I could deduct this VAT gradually over the course of some trimesters as the airplane is owned by my Belgian VAT company.
It is now happily based in Belgium, on N-reg, via a trust.
I carry all above related paperwork with my on my journeys but I never got any trouble while I had some non-annoying police & customs controls.
Peter wrote:
EU can’t block these national moves.
I’m pretty sure that banning long-time parking of EU-reg aircraft is an obstacle to the free movement of goods. In the case of Sweden, the legislators have evaded the issue by stating – in the first paragraph of the Aviation Act – “Air traffic within Swedish territory may only take place in accordance with this Act or other statutes, unless otherwise provided for in EU regulations.”
If the aircraft will be permanently based in Belgium, you will have to pay EU VAT. If you can show it is based outside the EU (ie Switzerland) 51% of the time every year, then you could get away with it, but be prepared to show evidence if it is regularly in Belgium. Although totally unrelated, due to pure looks, HB reg will help with the latter, whereas OO will hurt.
It may be worth considering the TMG commute between Zurich and Belgium…it could easily pay for itself in avoided VAT !
