Clarification on Croatia charter tax situation
Having recently returned from a meeting at the Ministry of Finance in Zagreb regarding VAT on charter and other related issues in Croatia, Dorijan Dujmic, managing partner at BWA Yachting in Croatia, spoke to SuperyachtNews.com about several important updates for the superyacht industry.…
Having recently returned from a meeting at the Ministry of Finance in Zagreb regarding VAT on charter and other related issues in Croatia, Dorijan Dujmic, managing partner at BWA Yachting in Croatia, spoke to SuperyachtNews.com to share several important updates for the superyacht industry.
The main topics established were that VAT on charter is set at 13 per cent for charters starting in Croatia, charter in Croatia can be performed by Croatian-flagged yachts and EU-flagged yacht, and 'third country' flagged yachts (non-EU) can only perform charter if they obtain a charter licence. “This applies only for yachts over 40m,” explained Dujmic. “The cost of such a licence will not be high and according to current information available it will be approximately 300-400 euros. What we must stress is that the process of issuance will be lengthy and will most likely take up to three months.”
“For this reason we are recommending that all of our clients who are third-country flagged, over 40m in length, commercially registered and intending to embark in Croatia, to immediately start the process of applying for the charter licence,” Dujmic continued. “The licence will be valid for one year. The process will not only be lengthy to obtain, but the number of licences that will be granted for next season will also be limited. According to the information we have at this moment, the total number of licences that will be granted will be under 200 and will be on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis.”
Dujmic mentioned that it was also important to note that non-EU flagged, commercially registered yachts under 40m in length will not be allowed to embark guests in Croatia under any circumstances. “They will only have the possibility to disembark guests within Croatia, for example, embark in Montenegro and disembark in Croatia,” he says.
It was also stated that all yachts engaged in charter activity must have a certification of technical inspection done in the last 12 months. “In the case that you do not have this, an inspection will be performed in Croatia by the Croatian Register of Shipping,” Dujmic explains. “All yachts intending to perform charter in Croatia must appoint a fiscal representative and obtain a Croatian VAT number to the name of the yacht owning company.”
"I do not think this new information will discourage third country flagged yachts from chartering in Croatia this season as yachts have always chartered in our country and will continue to do so," adds Dujmic. "This new legislation does not forbid anything, the only rule non-EU yachts less than 40m in length will have to follow is to start the charter abroad and then they continue the charter in Croatia."
“While we are pleased to finally have some concrete information, we do still have a few unanswered questions that remain,” admits Dujmic. “We are still waiting to hear from the tax office regarding whether a yacht that starts a charter outside Croatia, will have to pay VAT for the amount of days spent in Croatia and whether the 13 per cent VAT be applicable on the Advanced Provisioning Allowance (APA) as well.”
Dorijan Dujmic will be speaking at the Superyacht Management Meeting: Fiscal. Join us for this insightful event in Monaco; 15th April. For more information or to register to attend please click here or contact Suzie Hine by emailing suzie@thesuperyachtgroup.com or calling +44 (0)207 801 1014.
To receive breaking news notifications, download our free app.
The main topics established were that VAT on charter is set at 13 per cent for charters starting in Croatia, charter in Croatia can be performed by Croatian-flagged yachts and EU-flagged yacht, and 'third country' flagged yachts (non-EU) can only perform charter if they obtain a charter licence. “This applies only for yachts over 40m,” explained Dujmic. “The cost of such a licence will not be high and according to current information available it will be approximately 300-400 euros. What we must stress is that the process of issuance will be lengthy and will most likely take up to three months.”
“For this reason we are recommending that all of our clients who are third-country flagged, over 40m in length, commercially registered and intending to embark in Croatia, to immediately start the process of applying for the charter licence,” Dujmic continued. “The licence will be valid for one year. The process will not only be lengthy to obtain, but the number of licences that will be granted for next season will also be limited. According to the information we have at this moment, the total number of licences that will be granted will be under 200 and will be on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis.”
Dujmic mentioned that it was also important to note that non-EU flagged, commercially registered yachts under 40m in length will not be allowed to embark guests in Croatia under any circumstances. “They will only have the possibility to disembark guests within Croatia, for example, embark in Montenegro and disembark in Croatia,” he says.
It was also stated that all yachts engaged in charter activity must have a certification of technical inspection done in the last 12 months. “In the case that you do not have this, an inspection will be performed in Croatia by the Croatian Register of Shipping,” Dujmic explains. “All yachts intending to perform charter in Croatia must appoint a fiscal representative and obtain a Croatian VAT number to the name of the yacht owning company.”
"I do not think this new information will discourage third country flagged yachts from chartering in Croatia this season as yachts have always chartered in our country and will continue to do so," adds Dujmic. "This new legislation does not forbid anything, the only rule non-EU yachts less than 40m in length will have to follow is to start the charter abroad and then they continue the charter in Croatia."
“While we are pleased to finally have some concrete information, we do still have a few unanswered questions that remain,” admits Dujmic. “We are still waiting to hear from the tax office regarding whether a yacht that starts a charter outside Croatia, will have to pay VAT for the amount of days spent in Croatia and whether the 13 per cent VAT be applicable on the Advanced Provisioning Allowance (APA) as well.”
Dorijan Dujmic will be speaking at the Superyacht Management Meeting: Fiscal. Join us for this insightful event in Monaco; 15th April. For more information or to register to attend please click here or contact Suzie Hine by emailing suzie@thesuperyachtgroup.com or calling +44 (0)207 801 1014.
To receive breaking news notifications, download our free app.
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