Customs Regulations
Planning to stay temporarily in Polynesian waters whilst on your ship?
Your vessel may benefit from temporary admission with suspension of duties and taxes.
TEMPORARY ADMISSION OF PLEASURE VESSELS WITH SUSPENSION OF DUTIES AND TAXES
Any owner or captain of a pleasure vessel arriving in French Polynesia by sea from abroad must go to the customs office at Papeete Port in Tahiti to make an entry declaration.
In the event of a first hit other than the island of Tahiti, it is provided by exemption that pleasure craft be allowed to dock in one of the ports provided for in decree n° DRCL of July 13, 1987. Ship captains must then report to the island's gendarmerie brigade to carry out the entry formalities on Polynesian territory: customs and immigration.
The entry declaration, made available to them within the gendarmerie brigades, is sent as soon as possible to the customs service by email, fax or post to the following addresses:
by email: dr-polynesie@douane.finances.gouv.fr
by post: Papeete Port customs office (yachting service)
BP 9006
98715 PAPEETE
by fax: (689) 40 43 55 45.
Once these mandatory formalities have been completed, your vessel can stay in Polynesian waters with exemption from import duties and taxes for a maximum period of 24 months (since July 9, 2020), subject to the following conditions being met:
a.- The owner or user of the vessel:
must not be resident in French Polynesia or not become so during his stay in French Polynesia,
must not engage in gainful activity in Polynesian territory.
b.- The ship:
must be registered outside the customs territory of French Polynesia,
must be the property of a natural or legal person established outside the customs territory of French Polynesia,
not be the object of a commercial use, a loan, a rental,
may be sold on justified request to the customs service:
to a resident buyer: after the regulatory formalities of sale, the buyer makes the release for consumption,
to a non-resident buyer: the temporary admission period has not been changed.
Failure to comply with only one of these conditions causes you to lose the benefit of the temporary admission (TA) regime for your vessel.
The advantages:
The stay of your vessel under the temporary admission regime not only allows you to use the vessel without customs clearance and without paying the duties and taxes due on importation, but also to benefit from a partial exemption from duties and taxes on your diesel fuelling.
The zero-rated diesel supply authorisation form will be issued to you on request, by the Papeete-port office, on presentation of your copy of the entry customs declaration covered by the service.
The stay under AT (Temporary Admission): It is continuous subject to the conditions set out above.
The spare parts, equipment and materials present on the ship when it enters and used for repairing a ship, benefit from the TA regime:
Their importation is carried out under cover of a declaration (DAUP model) of temporary admission not guaranteed:
The goods concerned will be declared either at their own heading, or under the tariff code 99.08.00.00.
The latter is regularised in accordance with the customs regulations in force.
The destruction of defective parts replaced after repair must, after prior authorisation from the customs service, be certified by all means.
Beyond the maximum period of stay of 24 consecutive months under temporary admission, you must leave the waters of French Polynesia with your ship or clear it through customs.
The renewal of the regime of the temporary admission of a pleasure craft for private use can only take place after presentation to the authorities of French Polynesia of proof of leaving the territory and entering a foreign territory. in French Polynesia for a period exceeding 6 months.
Transitional provision.
This provision applies to ships already placed in temporary admission on April 29, 2014, the date of publication of order n ° 655 CM of April 22, 2014. The period of stay already completed under the old system is calculated on a pro rata basis.
Exit of the AT.
At the end of the stay under AT, three options are possible:
a.- Option 1: you leave Polynesian waters with your ship
You must submit your final exit customs declaration to a foreign port at the Papeete Port customs office (essential to obtain the "exit clearance" issued by the Autonomous Port of Papeete).
In the event of departure abroad from an island other than Tahiti, complete the formalities with the gendarmerie on the last affected island and send the final exit declaration as soon as possible to the customs service at the addresses following:
by internet: dr-polynesie@douane.finances.gouv.fr,
by post: Papeete port customs office (yachting service) - BP 9006 Motu Uta - 98715 Papeete,
by fax: (689) 40 43 55 45.
Upon final departure from French Polynesia, on presentation of the “clearance” exit permit previously approved by the Autonomous Port of Papeete, you benefit from total exemption from customs duties and taxes on your diesel fueling.
The “clearance” exit permit will also justify the effective date of exit from the regime in the event of a renewal of a temporary admission of your vessel, subject to the conditions set out above.
b.- Option 2: you want to settle in French Polynesia.
Proceed with the customs clearance of your vessel at the Papeete Port office.
This option allows you to use your vessel in French Polynesia with complete freedom and without restriction. It is intended for people who have decided to establish their residence in French Polynesia.
c.- Option 3: you want to sell your vessel to a Polynesian resident.
The seller must inform the customs service by mail of his plan to sell, which will authorise the transaction after verifying the regularity of the vessel's situation.
After the regulatory sales formalities, the buyer must pay the duties and taxes due in accordance with the provisions of common law.
Customs clearance of ships is carried out at the Papeete-port customs office.
A recommendation.
In case of doubt about the regularity of the situation of your vessel, or if you have questions relating to the regulations, you are invited to contact the "business advisory unit" of the Regional Customs Department without delay:
Office hours: 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Phone: (689) 40 50 55 58
Fax: (689) 40 43 55 45
Mail: cce-polynesie@douane.finances.gouv.fr
Your file will be examined with your help and, if necessary, its regularisation.