Boat Shipping - Import Regulations in Fiji

Import Regulations in Fiji

The Customs and security requirements in Fiji are strict and all boats must proceed directly to a port of entry, which may be: Suva, Lautoka, Levuka and Savusavu, and not to any other place in Fiji without written clearance authority from the Customs of Fiji. Although there are a number of marina and club facilities in Fiji, none is a port of entry and any boat or yacht found at places other than a port without Customs clearance would be prosecuted with fines. Serious Customs offences also include confiscation of the boat.

Before a vessel, including yacht leaves any country bound for Fiji, the owner is required by law and must obtain a valid Customs clearance from the Customs authorities of that country. This clearance certificate will be collected by Customs upon their boarding of the boat.

Under Customs laws, visiting yachts can enter and can be kept provisionally in Fiji without payment of Customs duty on the yacht, if the yacht is the property of the bona fide tourist; if the yacht is on a bona fide cruise or participating in a yacht race; if the yacht is not abandoned in Fiji by owner; and if the yacht will remain in Fiji for not more than 1 year after its first incoming.

The yacht will become liable to duty in the following cases: it is imported for commercial purposes or for other considerations while in Fiji territorial waters (commercial charters, hiring, leasing, etc); the proprietor is associated in any way with any organization in Fiji as an employer; or the yacht is not exported within 1 year of the date of the yacht’s first arrival in Fiji.

If an owner wants to cruise in Fiji territorial waters, in addition to the customs clearance he (she) must also get a clearance at any port from the Coconut Pest and Diseases Board. A number of islands and places in Fiji are free of rhinoceros beetle and the owner may be proceeding from a dirty area to an uninfested area.

An owner will need also to get written clearance from the Ministry of Fijian Affairs for cruises to any of the islands except for the Lau Group. Cruising in the Lau Group would need the clearance of the Lau Provincial Council.

The import duty (if an owner wants to import his (her boat) is charged grounded on a surveyors evaluation (paid for by the applicant) and is 38% of the value of the yacht. Additionally, there is a 12.5% VAT charged on the total of the value of the boat and the duty.

As per a memo issued by FIRCA, the import duty, VAT and other fees will be assessed on boats returning in less than nine months as follows: an owner will need to have an independent survey by a FIRCA approved surveyor (for planning purposes, about F$600); an owner will need to retain a customs agent (only for planning purposes, about F$400).

Grounded on the assessed value of the boat, you will be charged at a rate of 1/60 of the total duty and VAT assessed on the boat per 1 month of stay, but the entire duty and VAT amount must be paid in advance, to be refunded after your departure from Fiji.

If an owner wants to leave the country for while his (her) boat remains in Fiji, they need to get a letter from Immigrations to allow them to return to Fiji to rejoin their boat. Simple to get before the owner leaves and almost impossible from abroad.