Customs notification process changed

The UK Border Agency has agreed to revise its bureaucracy for yachts sailing from the UK to outside the EU.

Previously yachts were not allowed to start their voyages until Customs had received the C1331 form, which relates to 'pleasure craft on non-EU voyages'.

But now, after pressure from the RYA, the agency has agreed that as long as the form has been sent prior to departure, Customs do not need to have received it by then.

Gus Lewis, the RYA's chief legal officer, told the agency that the original process was impractical for yachts going on non-EU voyages, which include trips to the Channel Islands.

He said: 'It may seem like a small thing to have got this changed, but it would otherwise have had significant implications for those yachts travelling from the UK to non-EU destinations.

'We are therefore pleased that the agency has responded positively to the RYA's concerns.'