Interesting … different opinions on a very basic Q which will have a huge impact on anyone in the UK buying a plane from the EU.
What is the import duty on a private plane? I have not heard of that one before.
tinfoilhat wrote:
maybe Returned Goods Relief could be an option
Yes
If you read the details on that you find it is more than 3 letters 
e.g.
This is applicable to anything sent out of the UK and returned e.g. an engine overhauled in the US.
I don’t see how it helps with buying an EU based (“EU VAT paid”) plane which was never in the UK to start with. Maybe there is another exemption, but nobody has pointed it out yet.
I think this is the best advice I have seen on what to do if your VAT status is on the wrong side of channel.
He has another article which is also interesting.
I still do not see a clear answer to the Q of whether you can just import a plane (which was never in the UK previously) from EU27 to the UK and not pay import VAT. I suspect there is an exemption but haven’t found it yet.
I am sure those who do this regularly must have discovered the route.
The above link states
Goods in an EU member state on 31 December 2020
From 1 January 2021 goods arriving in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from the EU will be subject to import duties and VAT, unless a relief applies.
but then adds
To allow importers extra time to return goods to Great Britain from the EU, a special extension period has been agreed. [ my bold
which doesn’t make sense for non returned goods.
So maybe there is some other “relief”. Maybe it is something related to an aircraft specifically, and one which provably had “VAT paid” status. Well, there’s another problem. Most of us know that most planes sitting in Europe don’t have a documentary proof of “VAT paid”. Many previous threads on how to obtain this status…
Normally, if a seller is not VAT registered then he can’t charge VAT, but in this case the import VAT is due from the buyer.
Peter,
« yes » was only to the question: if you’re based in the Uk and your plane was in the EU at midnight on 31/12/2020, can you bring it back to the UK without VAT or duty, using the Returned Goods Relief.I don’t know if there is a way for a EU based person to sell a plane which was in the EU on 31/12/2020 at midnight, in the UK, without the buyer/importer paying VAT and duty, but I suspect not.
if you’re based in the Uk and your plane was in the EU at midnight on 31/12/2020
Yes; that had to be the case otherwise the European mainland would need to be emptied of all UK owned movable property before 31 Dec 2020
I don’t know if there is a way for a EU based person to sell a plane which was in the EU on 31/12/2020 at midnight, in the UK, without the buyer/importer paying VAT and duty, but I suspect not.
I have been digging around and not found anything either, although one chap I know got professional advice to the contrary.
My view, FWIW, is that the EU VAT PAID status is irrelevant to the UK import VAT situation. Well, unless somebody finds an HMRC concession saying otherwise.
This is going to put a damper on aircraft sales EU → UK for a very long time – except to VAT registered bodies who can claim it back.
And the other way too.
If you have to pay import VAT, you can claim back EU VAT.
So a Business – Business sale and a Business – Private sale should be fine.
Private-Private – does import VAT apply here?
Between private individuals VAT doesn’t apply (unless the tax authority decides that actually one of them is carrying on a trade e.g. somebody selling £100k/year on Ebay, or some wide boy selling 100 cars/year “privately”) but this is VAT on import which applies regardless of the status of the seller. And regardless of whether the exporting country has a VAT system; if I buy a piece of avionics on US Ebay from a private seller I pay import VAT for sure.
That’s AIUI – never heard of such an exception.
Many importing buyers will not be able to claim back VAT even if VAT registered. A company can claim it back if it is “wholly and exclusively” for the purpose of the business. The words have in the past not been totally enforced and loads of people have done it, however (another story whether it is worth doing… you then have to charge yourself x+VAT for your private flying, and do that for ever on).
