Exemption from the obligation to pay Value Added Tax for the owners of vessels, mainly on the high seas, according to a new Ministerial Circular (POL).

The strong protests of professionals in the field of maritime tourism took place. It concerns the Joint Ministerial Decision of the Ministries of Finance and Shipping, which was issued in October. It determined the terms and conditions of VAT on the activities - services of professional tourist boats.

The Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Fotis Kouvelis, and the Deputy Minister of Finance, Katerina Papanatsiou, announced the amendment of the POL. Regulation (EC) No 1177/2018 on the terms and conditions for the operation of tourist vessels, mainly on the high seas, for the purposes of granting VAT exemptions.

VAT exemption - Conditions

Specifically, the conditions for exemption from the obligation to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) set out are the following:

• The predetermined domestic voyage where the distance travelled between the port of departure and the port of arrival, or between two ports in the case of intermediate ports, is more than 12 miles
• In the case of ships or day-boats of Law 4256/2014, a voyage on the high seas is considered as a voyage whose distance from the port of departure until its return to it is more than 24 nautical miles, regardless of the existence of intermediate ports.
• Ships engaged exclusively on predetermined voyages are considered to be operating mainly on the high seas for a given calendar period if they are engaged in voyages on the high seas and to international destinations in excess of 60% of their total voyages for that period
• Proof of voyage or use of the ship on the high seas shall be:
  • on the one hand, by using electronic automatic identification systems which meet IMO standards, and
  • αφετέρου με χρήση ηλεκτρονικής εφαρμογής που δημιουργείται στην Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή Δημοσίων Εσόδων (ΑΑΔΕ)
• Η επιβεβαίωση των στοιχείων στην ηλεκτρονική εφαρμογή πραγματοποιείται από τις αρμόδιες Υπηρεσίες του Υπουργείου Ναυτιλίας και Νησιωτικής Πολιτικής, κατόπιν υποβολής έντυπης ή ηλεκτρονικής δήλωσης άφιξης μέσω της εφαρμογής