Note: It has been very difficult to get at the way things actually work in Spanish Marine Law as opposed to 'custom and practice'.
I have used many sources for the following information, many not credited. Some 'legal organisations' including a Spanish one, with offices in Gibraltar to be less than helpful and actually quite ignorant of the 'system' but wanting to charge on a time basis to try to find the answers!.
This page updated 15th December 2009 here
Because I intend moving to Spain, as a resident, I have been in touch with Spanish Legal Authorities to find out the situation with bringing my boat into the country for UK citizens.
If you are just sailing into Spain and intend being in Spanish Waters for less than 180 days = 6 months in any year:
then really you have no problems.
You must carry on board your registration certificate (SSR or 'Part 1' for UK boats) your passports, a copy of your insurance documentation and a VHF operators licence. These rules apply to all EU countries for a EU registered boat with EU owner/skipper.
No foreign country can dictate what qualifications or safety equipment a yacht or skipper in their waters must conform to except it should conform to the rules of the country in which the boat is registered. (The UK does not require any qualification to 'drive' a boat so you do not need to carry one.) You may choose to, because not all Spanish Customs/Guardia Civil know that is the UK law! To have a ICC or Yachtmaster is useful. Authorities from any EU country can require 'proof' that VAT has been paid on the vessel.
If you have property in Spain and a boat in a local port but are personally in Spain for less than 183 days - 6 months of the year, then you also do not have a problem. It is your 'non residence', not the fact the boat is in Spanish waters that counts. It is sensible to have the boat 'precintado' or sealed by Spanish Customs when you are 'away' in order to prove the less than 183 days of residence/use of the boat. (The onus of 'proof' is on you to prove you were not in the country - it is not on the Spanish Authorities!)
If you intend sailing into Spain and spending more than 180 days = 6 months in one year - even if you leave and re-enter during any 12 month period, then different rules/laws apply:
If you are land based or living in your boat in Spain for more than 180 days in any 12 month period then the Spanish Authorities will consider you to be resident in Spain. (You will remain domicile in your country of origin (e.g. UK) but for Spanish legal and tax purposes you are considered to be a resident of Spain. (The same rule applies to France/Netherlands and other EU countries)
If you own a property in Spain and spend more than 183 days = 6 months in Spain in any one year then the Spanish authorities consider you to be resident in Spain
THIS IS HOW THE SPANISH LAW EXPECTS RESIDENTS TO BEHAVE WITH THEIR BOATS:-
As a Spanish resident you are not allowed to own a 'foreign flagged' boat. (this is the law but actually it is not normally applied to foreigners)
So you must re-register your boat as Spanish if you want to be legal or the local authorities insist.. (Probably need help with this - here)
You must pay 'Matriculation' tax of 12% of the value of the boat.
However it is possible to have this Matriculation' tax of 12% waived if you apply for Spanish registration as follows
1.The registration must be applied within the first 30 days from becoming resident in Spain.
2. The boat should have paid the standard taxes in the country of origin.
3. The boat should have been owned by you for at least 12 months before of getting the Spanish tax residency. The ownership who obtain this tax benefit cannot sell the boat before six months.
Probably need help with this - here
If it is not possible to prove that VAT has already been paid then you would need to pay VAT. (You should be able to prove that it has been paid fairly easily from the boats paperwork)
You will be liable for the annual Tarifa G-5 tax which is effectively a tax on having a boat and varies with the power of the engine and the size of the boat. Bit like the old 'light dues'. - exactly the same tax exists in France and several other EU countries. It is payable locally. The 'average' cost for a 12 metre sail boat is probably around 600€ annually.
A Spanish resident must have a 'Spanish boat license' to 'drive' the boat
BUT YOU MAY USE A TRANSLATION OF YOUR UK CERTIFICATION AS FOLLOWS:-
|
PLEASURE CRAFT OPERATOR CARD
|
Embarcaciones de recreo sin limitaciones (Recreational voyages without limitation) |
|
INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY, or EMITDO
POR LA IRISH SAILING ASSOCIATION
|
Embarcaciones de recreo hasta 80 GT o 24 metros de eslora Dentro de este certificado existen varias categorías, pero todas ellas limitadas a navegaciones costeras (You can drive according to qualifications listed on your ICC / EMITDO within 60 miles of the coast.)
|
|
YACHTMASTER OCEAN CERTIFICATE
|
Embarcaciones sin limitaciones (Voyages without limit) |
|
COASTAL SKIPPER |
Embarcaciones de hasta 24 m. de eslora, sin alejarse más de 20 millas de la costa.
|
|
YATCHMASTER OFFSHORE
|
Embarcaciones de hasta 24 m. de eslora, sin alejarse más de 150 millas de la costa.
|
|
YATCHMASTER OFFSHORE with commercial endorsement
|
Embarcaciones de hasta 200 toneladas brutas, sin alejarse más de 150 millas de la costa.
|
What is even better news is that the RYA provides Spanish translations for all their qualifications on their web site to download.
So, as a Spanish resident to 'drive' your boat in Spanish waters, you need a minimum of an ICC - with a Spanish translation attached!
there is an obligation to pay the matriculation tax or to apply for its exemption, but once that has been done the Marine authorities are quite permissive with the fact of keeping the previous flag. However there is no legal basis for that. I mean the fact of paying the tax, in theory, involve the obligation to register the boat under Spanish flag, but once again, and as far as I know from my previous experience, the re-flag of the boat doesn’t seem to be a priority for the Spanish Authorities, but you should keep in mind that not changing the flag could be an administrative problem in the future.
I know people who has paid or applied for the exemption and kept its previous fag for years, without having further problems. But once again there is no legal basis for that.
For the re-flagging, matriculation and registering of a UK boat into a Spanish resident boat I have been in touch with:
Alex Chumillas
Economista - Gestor Administrativo
C/ Villarroel, 212, 1º 2ª
08036 Barcelona
Teléfono: +34 934442137
Móvil : +34 667663521
Fax : +34 940469418
e-mail: alex@barcelonataxlaw.es
website: www.barcelonataxlaw.es
A News Letter from Alex at the Spanish Lawyers;
THE SPECIAL MEAN OF TRANSPORTS TAX (IEDMT) - MATRICULATION TAX
The Spanish Matriculation Tax can be enforced in some cases to boats owned by foreigners in Spain.
The actions taken by the Spanish Customs in the past months have certainly caused alarm among the users of foreign flag boats moored in the Spanish coasts. These actions have been focused towards the enforcement of the Special Mean of Transport Tax, commonly known as the Matriculation Tax.
We understand that this alarm is justified considering the little knowledge of the Spanish laws among the expats community live in our country. However it is convenient to point out that the mechanism how this tax is applied is clearly established by the law. The aim of this article is analyze the relevant aspects of this tax.
The Special Mean of Transport Tax is a tax levied at a 12% rate on a boat’s value. All the private boats above 8m registered in Spain are subjected to it. On the other hand any boat to be used in Spain by an individual or company resident in Spain must get registered under Spanish flag.
It is important to remark that the obligation of registering a means of transport in Spain occurs when a boat is used in Spain by a Spanish resident as we said above, independently if that user is the yacht owner or not.
In this sense we must remind that:
1) A person is considered Spanish resident when spends more that 183 days per year in the Spanish territory or have the main centre of business interests in Spain.
2) A company is considered established in Spain when it has a place / office in the country from where it develops its activity.
The fact that a boat spends more than 183 days doesn’t involve that his owner or user becomes Spanish resident. If the boat is owned by a company it can’t be understood neither that the company is established in Spain just because the boat stays longer than 183 days in Spain.
Saying that, it is possible to assure that a boat, whose owner is not resident or established in Spain, can stay in the Spanish territory as long as desired without any possibility that the matriculation tax might be demanded, The non Spanish owner or user in case of being required to pay the tax should proof his residency out of Spain by supplying a tax certificate issued by the Tax authorities of the country where he has its residency.
Moving into Spain.
Spain has become in the last years into an appreciated destination for many foreigners who
desire to be permanently established in our country. Many of these expats own yachts and it is very common that they bring into our country these means of transport when moving into it.
The query which arises is: Must they pay the matriculation tax?
For these situations the Spanish laws establishes a procedure which allows the ownership of a boat to avoid the payment of the tax by fulfilling a series of requirements:
1. The registration must be applied within the first 30 days
after becoming resident in Spain.
2. The boat should have paid the standard taxes in the country of origin.
3. The boat should have been acquired at least 12 months
before of getting the Spanish tax residency. The ownership who obtain this tax benefit can not sell the boat before six months.
Our fees to apply for tax exemption are 500 Euro + VAT
Our fees for registering the boat under Spanish flag are 1.000 Euro + VAT
Alex Chumillas -
e-mail: alex@barcelonataxlaw.es
website: www.barcelonataxlaw.es
Alex recently emailed:-
certainly there is an obligation to pay the matriculation tax or to apply for its exemption, but once that has been done the Marine authorities are quite permissive with the fact of keeping the previous flag. However there is no legal basis for that. I mean the fact of paying the tax, in theory, involves the obligation to register the boat under Spanish flag, but once again, and as far as I know from my previous experience, the re-flag of the boat doesn’t seem to be a priority for the Spanish Authorities, but you should keep in mind that not changing the flag could be an administrative problem in the future.
I know people who has paid or applied for the exemption and kept its previous flag for years, without having further problems. But once again there is no legal basis for that.
Hope this helps. Please don’t hesitate to contact me again.
Best regards,
Alex
I am very grateful to
Peter Bux
Chief Instructor at
The Costa Del Sol's Premier RYA Training Centre
A.A.P. Marine Sea Services
Tel: 00 34 636 512 465
for all his advice and research.
Official information on Spanish Law re Boats!
VERSION ESPAÑOLA
Apreciado compañero,
Tengo
el placer de informarte que dentro del programa de actos organizados en el seno
del Salón Náutico de Barcelona y en colaboración con ADIN (Asociación de
Industrias Náuticas), el próximo lunes día 9 de noviembre a las 10:30 tendrá
lugar en la
SALA 4.3
debate coloquio titulado:
Estrategias
Pensamos
que es un tema muy interesante y que ofrece una serie de posibilidades
Esperamos
que el tema sea de vuestro interés y esperamos contar con tu presencia.
Igualmente aprovechamos la ocasión para comunicaros el lanzamiento de nuestra
web www.iurismarine.com . Allí podréis
encontrar la más amplia base de datos sobre legislación española en materia de
náutica de recreo. Así mismo os recomendamos que os registréis en nuestra
Newsletter a través de la cuál podréis nuestra Newsletter de publicación
trimestral sobre aspectos legales y
Atentamente,
Alex Chumillas Amat
Iurismarine
ENGLISH VERSION
Dear colleague,
We have the pleasure to inform you that among the different acts organized by the Barcelona Boat Show and with the collaboration of ADIN (National Association of the Spanish Marine Industry) we will take part in the conference: Tax strategies for marine companies, which is going to take place next Monday October the 9th at 10:30 in the hall 4.3 of Fira de Barcelona.
We think this is a very interesting issue about several tax possibilities to be applied by the professionals of this industry, which in many case are unknown.
We hope to see you there. Equally
we take this opportunity to introduce our new project
www.iurismarine.com
. You will find there the most comprehensive database about the Spanish
legislation concerning the leisure yachting in
Regards,
Alex Chumillas Amat
Iurismarine
Hope this is helpful
If you want to send me feedback or comment then:
michael@michaelbriant.com is the way to go
fair winds
Saujon France 22nd October 2009
