Spares and Ships Stores can be difficult when you consider the standard charter originating on St. Thomas. The BVI has never been consistent with enforcement and many visitors do not accurately report what they have and the intent for the goods.
A legitimate spare would be a single impeller or fan belt intended to be held as a spare and not planned to be used while in the territory. A case of impellers, a case of filters, a case of belts intended for a BVI based charter operator's use on Tortola would be different. A boat with gallons of paint expected to be applied during a stay at Nanny Cay would be different.
When it comes to legitimate ship's stores that would be a supply of goods expected to still be mostly onboard at departure or replenished in the BVI before departure. Goods imported with the expectation they would be mostly consummed would be taxable. Consider how many on this board handle the importation of a cooler of meat for consumption aboard a boat. The BVI uses the term "home use". We owe the duty on goods intended for consumption whether it is collected or not.
Spare parts may be brought into the BVI for vessels in transit without the payment of duty. The Comptroller of Customs may, however, prescribe certain conditions for the handling of such imports. The duty on most marine spares is 5% of the value including shipping costs and insurance.
Before you flame me and cry in some form of rage... What is the difference between a cooler of meat in my baggage at EIS and a St. Thomas boat showing up for a week with a plan to go home empty clearing customs with $2,000 of beer and Pringles? No duty is owed on my iPad I plan to take back out on the way home. I do owe collected or uncollected the duty on the Pringles and Miller Lite my guest devour and do not replenish locally.
