SuperyachtNews

An information note sets out the position of the Spanish tax authorities under the UCC relating to yachting…

On 10 October, 2018, the Department of Customs and Duties of the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) published an information note in which it clarifies various interpretative criteria relating to the entry and exit of yachts into and from the Union Customs Territory (UCT), as well as the use of the Temporary Admission (TA) scheme under the Union Customs Code (UCC). Miguel Ángel Serra Guasch, Partner at Albors Galiano Portales, summarises the points that the note sets out in the following:

• Upon entry or exit of Spanish waters, yachts without ‘Union good’ status (i.e. yachts not wholly manufactured in the UCT, not having paid the corresponding VAT or imported and released for free circulation within the UCT), which meet the requirements to be subject to the TA scheme (when the yacht is registered outside the UCT, in the name of a person resident outside the UCT and is also used by a person resident outside the UCT), do not have to lodge any type of express declaration to Customs. Instead, the mere crossing of the border, which is understood as 12 nautical miles from the coast, is sufficient.
• Upon entry or exit of Spanish waters, yachts with ‘Union good’ status (i.e. yachts manufactured in the UCT, having paid the corresponding VAT, or imported and released for free circulation within the UCT), whether they are flagged in the UCT or outside the UCT, do not have to lodge any type of express declaration to Customs to be subject to Returned Goods Relief (RGR), which allows yachts to be exported for a maximum period of three years and exempt from import VAT on their return to the UCT. Instead, the mere crossing of the border is sufficient;
• It is now possible for yachts that meet the requirements for TA to operate commercially (charter) in Spain, as long as this is allowed by regional regulations. This is the clear position of the European Commission expert group.

Read full article here.