The guide to Superyacht law - Fourth edition

Can I charter my superyacht if I am in the EU under the Temporary Importation Regime (TIR)? • No. The TIR is a relief, that lasts for 18 months and is renewable, from import VAT based on you neither chartering or offering to charter, selling or offering to sell your superyacht within the EU. TIR is only available to a non-EU flagged superyacht, owned by non-EU residents You should not allow EU residents to use the superyacht if you are not on board. If you breach any of these conditions, the relief is removed and VAT on the importation of the superyacht is immediately chargeable, together with possible penalties and interest calculated from the date of the original importation. TIR for helicopters on board a • Occasionally this is possible, but only if you pay an arm’s length commercial charter rate. However, if you are the only or principal charterer, the superyacht is not commercial. As an aside, chartering through a series of dummy companies does not count as arm’s length chartering or pursuing commercial business. The tax authorities do not always respect the sanctity of the corporate veil. They look at who directly or indirectly owns the company and draw their own conclusions Does the flag have anything to do with tax? • The flag only has an impact on tax if you are applying for TIR where you have to have a non-EU flag. Usually, tax is determined by how the superyacht is used as opposed to the superyacht’s flag. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that non-EU flags are having a tough time operating legally in some parts of Spain and Greece superyacht is only six months. Can I charter the superyacht to myself?

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