Tax-Free Wine Supply for Yachts
Commercially registered yachts can take wine, Champagne, spirits and soft drinks on board free of VAT and excise duty for consumption during a valid charter. If you think your vessel qualifies, contact us and we will run the customs process for you.
Which orders qualify?
- All orders delivered outside the EU qualify automatically.
- Inside the EU, tax-free supply is possible subject to the conditions below and to your local customs agent being able to facilitate it — we confirm case by case. (Not permitted in Spain.)
Tax-free goods must be destined for consumption during the period of a valid charter contract, on board a commercially registered yacht employing a permanent crew — and the yacht must leave port within 48 hours of the tax-free delivery.
What we need from you
- A copy of the ship's papers clearly stating the vessel is commercially registered
- A copy of the charter contract
- A copy of the crew list
- A signed and stamped commercial attestation
Costs and timing
Customs agents charge at least €199 to process a tax-free delivery, so it is only worthwhile when the tax saved exceeds that fee — as a rule of thumb, orders of roughly €1,020+ for wine and spirits or €3,620+ for soft drinks.
Customs constraints mean we need at least 48 hours' notice for a tax-free delivery, and you must tell us that the order is to be tax-free at the time of ordering — tax on a delivery cannot be reclaimed retrospectively.
The rules on board
- Tax-free goods may not be consumed while the vessel is alongside, and we cannot deliver tax-free goods to static charters.
- Goods purchased tax-free may not be taken off the vessel unless the local taxes are first paid to the local authorities.
Questions about a specific itinerary or port? Email us — we have run this process for hundreds of charters and can tell you quickly whether it works for yours.