Maybe they did contact the owner but I did see the placard similar to the one below. When they stickered the boat, it was on the hard for the winter down the Cape.
Maybe impounded was the wrong term?
I have a boat registered in Langkawi, Malaysia which I plan to bring to the US. My residence is in North Carolina but as a non-US citizen, I cannot register boat with US CG. My question relates to usage tax in NC where the boat would be less than 3 months....would any tax be due in that case. Thank you.
As has been pointed out many times, but it bears repeating. USCG documentation is not registration. It is title to the boat in place of state title. Title defines who owns the boat. Registration who operates the boat. Not all states require state registration if the boat us USCG documented. Not all states tax boats the same. Generally sales tax is a one time event for each owner paid when the boat is purchased or brought into the state. Taxes paid, if any, at annual registration vary state by state and are called different things state by state. Bet to get your answers from a knowledgeable source not the internet. Your state's authorities or a reputable marine documentation service would be two place to ask.
You have a number of issues that don't apply to what we have been talking about. 1. are you permanently importing this vessel? 2. Are you just going to be a visiting vessel from a foreign state? If you are permanently bringing in a foreign vessel you will have to declare it and pay duty. Then you can register with any state that you chose. Say you import to NY harbor, you don't have to register as a New York vessel. You could register it in your home state, the state it is going to reside the most or any other state that allows vessels to be registered without physically seeing the vessel. Example, many sea going vessels are registered in Arizona obviously having no ports. As noted in above post, state registration is not CG documentation and a foreign vessel with a foreign owner in the state should be able to register the vessel, but you have to check the requirements of the state you wish to register. Just a note, a foreign built vessel can now be documented as a pleasure vessel with the CG but I have no idea about a foreign owner. Possibly here a LLC could be applicable but you would have to talk with a documentation expert about that.
I’d suggest you contact a customs broker who knows boats. Such as Home - Howard S Reeder Inc
We bought our boat in WA 2+ years ago and brought it to AK where we live. We kept the boat in Anacortes for about 6 months before running it to AK. Ordinarily that would trigger the WA tax but there is an exception if you’re keeping it in WA to have work done on it. We had it on the hard in a boatyard and got a letter from the yard saying they were doing work on it (which was true). We had to file a form reporting this to the State of WA, and then some kind of renewal every 90 days (if I’m remembering right) to keep the tax exemption. I spent a lot of time reading up on this on the State of WA website, and was able to file all the forms electronically or by email. It’s a bit complicated and you don’t want to miss any of the deadlines, or you might be stuck for the tax. But their website explains it fairly well.
Have you decided where you will establish residency?
