EU goods status for recreational craft: Official proof is now available

The T2L is actually a cargo document which, until now, customs authorities only issued when goods were due to be moved. The General Customs Directorate has informed the organisation behind the platform that Tanis | von der Mosel Law Firm confirms that a T2L for a pleasure craft may be applied for as a precautionary measure, even without a specific forthcoming voyage or transport. In justified cases, an extended period of validity may also be considered. As a guideline, the customs authorities cite six months or the duration of a season.​​

• EU publishes guidance on recreational craft
• Click here for the EU guidance
• Questions and answers on the new EU guidance

Proof of Union goods status must be provided

However, a T2L is not issued simply on the basis of an application, but only once the Union goods status of the boat in question has been verifiably demonstrated to the customs authorities. Until now, handling this on behalf of the owner has been at the heart of the platform’s service offering mwst-boot.org. As part of an audit procedure, the boat’s history and the documents submitted by the owner are examined, and its VAT and EU status are assessed from a legal perspective.

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On this basis, in suitable cases, we can now also assist with the application for an official T2L status certificate.

How to obtain official proof

“Up to now, the problem for many owners has not been a lack of documentation, but rather the need to compile reliable evidence of Union status from sales contracts, invoices, previous ownership records and other documents,” explains solicitor Benyamin Tanis. “We examine precisely this history. If EU goods status can be reliably established from it, we can take the next step of obtaining the official T2L certificate on behalf of the owner.”

This can be of considerable importance, particularly in the case of older yachts, multiple changes of ownership or international sales transactions. This is because the European Commission expressly points out in its current guidance on recreational craft that, in the event of any doubt regarding EU status, appropriate proof may be required.

Convenient for owners

Alongside this expansion of its range, the platform combines This combines two previously separate steps: the legal assessment and documentation of a pleasure boat’s VAT and EU status and – provided the conditions are met in the specific case – the application for an official T2L status certificate.

For the owner, this means, above all, that they do not have to deal with the customs procedures themselves, but can have the checks and further processing carried out centrally via mwst-boot.org.