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Yacht
Ownership and Management |
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Yacht Registration
Services in the Seychelles
The Seychelles offers an
attractive "offshore" regime for the ownership and registration
of yachts. A Seychelles citizen or company must own a yacht
in order for it to fly the Seychelles flag. As regional pioneers
in the industry, GTA (Mauritius) Limited has considerable expertise
in the formation and administration of zero or low tax Seychelles
Companies and Seychelles yacht registration.
Seychelles is member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth,
the group of non-aligned countries, the Indian Ocean Commission,
and the International Maritime Organisation, and vessels flying
the Seychelles flag benefit from friendly treatment worldwide.
If the vessel is not in Seychelles waters, it can be provisionally
registered under a Seychelles flag at a diplomatic or consular
representative abroad. It will later be permanently registered
with the Seychelles Ship Registrar.
Classification
The Seychelles presently
recognises the following classification societies:
- Lloyd's Register of Shipping (UK)
- Bureau Veritas (France)
- Nippon Kaiji Ryokai (Japan)
- Det Norske Veritas (Norway)
- America Bureau of Shipping (USA)
- Germanischer Lloyd (Germany)
Provisional Registration
The following particulars
will need to be presented for the provisional registration of
a yacht:
- A certificate signed by the builder
containing various technical details relating to the yacht.
- Where the yacht has been registered
under the law of a foreign country, evidence that registration
in that country has ceased.
- Proof of ownership of the yacht.
- A list of not less than three
alternative names under which the ship is proposed to be
registered.
- A radio license.
Permanent Registration
After a period of 90 days,
the yacht can be permanently registered. The yacht owner will
need to submit further documentation:
- An application for permanent registration.
- A Bill of Sale.
- Statutory Certificates.
- A Carving and Marking Note, which
is issued by the Registrar of Shipping.
If you are interested in
more information regarding the registration of your yacht in
the Seychelles, please contact Dharmesh Naik, Managing Director
of GTA (Mauritius) Limited:
MAURITIUS
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GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR - AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST
Dharmesh Naik, B.Eng, Cert (Comp), TEP, F. MIoD
Dharmesh Naik is a graduate of the University of Allahabad in India where he obtained his Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science. He joined the Group in 2000 after spending almost 3 years with Siemens. Dharmesh is a Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and a member of the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA), International Fiscal Association (IFA) and the Institute of Corporate Governance in Mauritius. He is a fellow of the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD). He is responsible for the Indian Ocean region, Africa, Middle East and India. He is also responsible for the Group's IT implementations as well as Group Marketing.
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Ship Registration Services in
Mauritius
Owning a vessel through a
Mauritius GBCI Company and its registration in Mauritius has
many advantages. GTA (Mauritius) Limited, as a pioneer in this
market, has unique expertise in the facilitation of the registration
of ships in Mauritius.
Some of the advantages of registering your ship in Mauritius
include:
- Mauritius registered vessels are
exempt from tax on freight earnings.
- Dividends paid from the Mauritius
shipping company are free of withholding tax.
- Ship's stores, consumables, spare
parts and bunkers are exempted from customs and excise duties.
- Crew are exempted from Mauritius
income tax.
- No capital gains tax is payable
upon the sale or transfer of a ship or of the shares in
a shipping company.
- No estate duty is payable on the
inheritance of shares in a shipping company.
- There are no restrictions on the
nationality of the crew and work permits are not required.
- Mauritius has ratified most of
the international conventions on maritime safety, prevention
of pollution and training and certification of seafarers.
Mauritius citizens and certain
types of companies are entitled to own and register ships under
the Mauritius Flag. Specifically this includes companies holding
a Category 1 Global Business Licence; provided their objects
are confined to the registering of ships under the Mauritius
Flag and that their shipping activities are carried out exclusively
outside Mauritius.
Further, the above persons or companies can register a foreign
ship under the Mauritius Flag if the ship is bareboat chartered
to them for a period of at least 12 months but not exceeding
three years. Every type of sea worthy vessel intended for use
in navigation is eligible, but they should not be older than
15 years. It must maintain class with one of the classification
societies approved by the Director of Shipping and a third party
liability insurance certificate must be produced evidencing
compliance with international maritime conventions to which
Mauritius has acceded.
The registration procedures involve the formation of a Company
licensed by the Financial Services Commission to hold a Category
1 Global Business Licence and the registration of the vessel
itself with the Ministry of Trade and Shipping.
Registration
The Mauritius shipping laws allow for permanent, provisional
and parallel registration of vessels.
Provisional registration under the Mauritius Flag for a period
of up to six months prior to permanent registration is allowed
and may be effected at any place abroad, where Mauritius has
an embassy, a consulate or an honorary consul.
The requirements as to the age, class, and proof of liability
insurance and international conventions as required for permanent
registration shall apply. For a ship which has a foreign certificate
of registration and wants to transfer to the Mauritius register,
a certificate of deletion from the foreign register clearing
any registered encumbrances, is required.
Parallel registration. Ships bareboat registered in a foreign
registry chartered by Mauritius companies may be registered
in the Mauritius Open Ship Registry for the period of the charter,
however, not exceeding three years.
Permanent Registration is where the ship is permanently registered
after fulfilment of all of the registration procedures. On receipt
of the certificates, the Director of Shipping will allot to
the ship the number which must be carved on the ship, together
with the name, registered tonnage and the port of registry.
On the completion of the carving, marking and the inspection
by an approved surveyor, and receipt of the necessary documents
and fees, the Director of Shipping will issue the certificate
of registration.
Registration of the Mortgage
of a Ship
A Mauritius ship may be given as mortgage for security of principal
sum and interest. The legislation has been amended to bring
it in line with the British System of Mortgages. Both owners
and mortgagees are fully safeguarded by clear provisions in
the appropriate regulations.
A ship under the Mauritius Flag or a share therein may be pledged
or given security for a loaner guarantee. A provisionally registered
Mauritius ship can be mortgaged and the priority of such mortgage
is preserved upon permanent registration of the ship.
How long does it take
to register a Ship?
The process includes two steps, the incorporation of the Mauritius
GBCI Company, and the registration of the vessel in Mauritius
with a Mauritius Flag. Depending on the business plan and the
availability of the documents, it takes around 3-4 weeks for
the company incorporation and another 2-3 weeks for the ship
registration.
If you are interested in more information regarding the registration
of your ship in Mauritius, please contact Dharmesh Naik, Managing
Director of GTA (Mauritius) Limited:
MAURITIUS
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MANAGING
DIRECTOR
Dharmesh Naik, B.Eng, Cert (Comp), TEP, F. MIoD
Dharmesh Naik is a graduate of the University of Allahabad in India where he obtained his Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science. He joined the Group in 2000 after spending almost 3 years with Siemens. Dharmesh is a Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and a member of the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA), International Fiscal Association (IFA) and the Institute of Corporate Governance in Mauritius. He is a fellow of the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD). He is responsible for the Indian Ocean region, Africa, Middle East and India. He is also responsible for the Group's IT implementations as well as Group Marketing.
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English, French, Hindi, Gujarati,
Creole
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Ship Registration Services in
Madeira
Madeira Management Companhia
Limitada obtained the first Madeira management licence in 1989
and is Madeira's leading management company. Our team of forty
legal and accounting professionals, led by Dr António
Rui Ponte Marques, specialises in making the Madeira International
Business Centre ("MIBC") accessible to shipping companies, businesses
and their professional advisers. Our shipping department is
managed by Dra. Súzel Camacho, a Portuguese advocate,
who specialises in matters relating to shipping.
Some of the advantages of registering your ship in Madeira include:
- No tax on crew salaries
- Only the Captain and 50% of the
crew must be EU or PALOP (Portuguese Language African Countries)
nationals. In special and justified cases this requirement
may be waived.
- The crew and their employers are
not obliged to pay Portuguese Social Security contributions
provided that contributions are being made in another country
Madeira Ship Registration
The International Shipping Register of Madeira ("MAR") is a
credible alternative to other international registers and yet
keeps the technical discipline and safety, which characterises
conventional shipping registers.
Under the MIBC Legislation vessels and yachts may be registered
at MAR under the Portuguese flag provided their activities do
not amount to transportation of goods between Portuguese ports.
Transportation between Portuguese ports and foreign ports is
allowed.
Registration
Certain documents and information regarding the ship should
be submitted to the Technical Commission of MAR for analysis
and this will vary depending on whether it is a temporary or
a permanent registration.
Classification
The shipping registry delegates some of its functions and recognises
certificates issued by specified classification societies. Among
the functions that may be delegated are the supervision and
enforcement of rules concerning stability, bulk cargo, on board
security as well as the issuing of international certificates
concerning conventions and resolutions of the International
Maritime Organisation and the OLO.
Portugal presently recognises eight classification societies
who are certified to carry out their functions in the framework
of MAR, they are:
- Lloyd's Register of Shipping (LRS);
- Bureau Veritas (BV);
- Det Norske Veritas (DNV);
- Registro Italiano Navale (RINA);
- American Bureau of Shipping (ABS);
- Rinave Portuguesa (RINAVE);
- Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NKK).
Mortgage Law
The mortgagor and the mortgagee by written agreement may choose
the legal system of a particular country that shall govern the
terms of the mortgage. Should such agreement not be reached,
the Portuguese law shall apply.
If you are interested in more information regarding the registration
of your ship in Madeira, please contact Dra. Súzel Camacho,
who is a director of Madeira Management Companhia Limitada:
MADEIRA
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DIRECTOR
AND LEGAL COUNSEL
Dra Maria Súzel Freitas Camacho
A law graduate from the University of Lisbon. Having
started out as a legal counsel to Madeira Management,
was appointed director in 1995 and is responsible
for matters relating to shipping and a portfolio
of clients. A member of the International Tax Planning
Association and an expert in matters relating to
shipping.
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English, Portuguese, Spanish and
French
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| Tel: |
+ 351 (291) 201
700 |
| Fax: |
+ 351 (291) 227
144 |
| Email: |
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Yacht Registration Services
in Luxembourg
Why choose Luxembourg?
Luxembourg, a traditionally
non-Marine nation, has developed a competitive legal framework
for shipping companies. Among other minor advantages, the merchant
shipping status of Luxembourg offers VAT exemption (EU-wide),
an unlimited right of anchorage in EU waters, tax-free storage
of fuel, EU flagging, advantages of the financial centre of
Luxembourg for ship financing and the following competitive
tax regime:
- The existence of a favourable
rate of taxation on profits (22.88%);
- The existence of favourable depreciation
arrangements, i.e. the normal working life of ships should
not be greater than ten or twelve years, and;
- Sliding-scale depreciation must
be allowed;
- A favourable regime that permits
carrying forward losses;
- Profits from the sale of a ship
that are reinvested in the purchase of another ship or in
the modernization of another ship benefit from exemption
of tax;
- Finally, the Luxembourg shipping
company is taxed under the general provisions of the Luxembourg
Income Tax Law, and does not benefit from an exempt status.
This is of supreme importance in the context of the application
of double tax treaties particularly with regard to repatriation
of dividends and profits.
- Tax credit on investment.
Which vessels may be registered
in Luxembourg?
The Luxembourg law allows the registration of all vessels of
at least twenty-five tonnes which are, or are intended, to be
used on a regular basis for the sea transport of persons or
things, for fishing, towing or any other gainful form of shipping
activity.
The law lays down an age limit of fifteen (15) years for an
initial registration.
By derogation from the tonnage limit laid down in the law, passenger
ships may be entered in the Luxembourg public shipping register
provided that they satisfy the provisions of the 1974 International
Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea, as subsequently amended.
Yachts should be over 24 meters (loadline) for registration in
the maritime register.
Who are authorised to
register a ship?
Those ships that are more than 50% owned by residents of the
European Union or by commercial companies that have their registered
office in a member state of the Union, and those chartered by
such persons or companies, provided that in all such cases all
or part of the management of the ship in question is carried
out from Luxembourg territory.
Tax Regime
Rate of Taxation (Corporation Income Tax)
Revenue earned by a Shipping company from the operation of Ships
is subject to income tax (Impôt sur les Revenus de Collectivités,
IRC) at a rate of 22. % plus a 4% of 22. % as employment tax
(taxe pour l'emploi): that amounts 22.88%. Shipping companies
are exempted of municipal business tax.
In addition to Corporation Income Tax, a wealth tax is levied
at a rate of 0.05% on the net wealth.
There are tax credits for investment made in an establishment
located in the Grand-Duchy and intended to remain there permanently
and which are physically in evidence on Luxembourg territory
and which are other than buildings. On the question of supplementary
investment, the law provides for a tax credit equal to 8.4%
of the said investment relating to a given operating year.
"Supplementary investment" is taken to be the difference between
the book value of the assets in question at the end of the operating
year and the arithmetical average of the respective book values
of these same assets at the end of five previous financial years.
This amount is increased by the depreciation operated on the
eligible assets in the year of the investment.
In addition there also exists a further credit granted as a
function of the gross investment. This credit (in respect of
a given operating year) is fixed at a 4.2% of the acquisition
price for that part that does not exceed Euro 150,000 and at
1.4% for the part above Euro 150,000.
Rules governing depreciation
Sliding-scale depreciation is permitted. There are two kinds
of depreciation which are accepted: linear depreciation and
accelerated depreciation.
Linear depreciation: The purchase price of the ship may be depreciated
over a minimum period of 12 years OR on the basis of a percentage
of the order of 8% of the purchase price.
Accelerated depreciation: it may be adopted at a maximum rate
of 24% (three times the linear rate of depreciation) until such
time as the amount written off according to this latter method
is less than the amount applying under linear depreciation,
where after the amount resulting from the application of linear
depreciation may be adopted.
Carrying forward of losses
A company's trading losses may be carried forward indefinitely.
Therefore, losses may be used to offset future profits.
Provisions concerning large-scale
repair and maintenance work on ships
Those are fully deductible.
Tax treatment of capital
gains on the sale of ships
Tax on capital gains on the re-sale of a ship owned by a Luxembourg
company for at least 5 years is deferred (tax deferral) provided
the proceeds of the sale are reinvested (within 2 years) in
certain classes of fixed assets, e.g. ships, real estate, shares
held as participations in either Luxembourg or foreign companies.
Tax treatment of dividends
received
Dividends received by a Luxembourg company and distributed by
a Luxembourg or foreign subsidiary shall be exempt from tax
(privilege of parent companies and subsidiaries) on the following
conditions:
- the participations must have been
held since the beginning of the year and for at least twelve
months or there must be a compromise to hold them for one
year since the date of acquisition;
- it must represent at least 10%
of the capital of the other company, or the acquisition
price must have been at least Euro 1,200,000;
- the company paying the dividend
must be a Luxembourg resident company which is fully liable
to local tax or a non-resident company which is subject
to a comparable tax to Luxembourg income tax.
In order for the tax rate in question to be "comparable", the Luxembourg tax authorities consider 15% to be the
minimum rate of tax.
Tax treatment of capital gains
on disposal of participations
Capital gains on disposals of participations in companies limited
by shares are free of tax on the following conditions:
- the participations must represent
at least 10% of the capital or the acquisition price must
have been at least Euro 6 million;
- the company must hold or commit
itself to hold the participation of a minimum of the 10%
of the share capital to be sold for a period of at least
12 months;
- the subsidiary must be a Luxembourg
resident company which is fully liable to local tax or a
non-resident company subject to a comparable tax to Luxembourg
income tax. 15% is the minimum rate required to make the
tax comparable.
Value-added tax (VAT)
Article 43/1 (f) of the 6th EU directive states that services
to the shipping industry shall be exempt from VAT. Indeed, Luxembourg,
differently to other EU states that have not fully applied the
"spirit" of the directive above mentioned, exonerates VAT
in advance. In other EU states, such as France, Spain, or Italy,
it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get the VAT that
has been already paid back. In Belgium, it will take around
two years.
The taxation of Seamen/
Social security
In general, the rate of a seaman's tax is fixed at 10% of 90%
of gross earning, plus a lump sum abatement of LUF 35,000 a
month (or LUF 1,400 a day throughout the duration of the contract
of employment). This flat rate tax is not applicable to seamen
who are resident in Luxembourg, but only to non-resident seamen.
Social security is in accordance with EU Directive 1408/71 or
bilateral agreement or private insurance
The place of actual management
In general, in order to ensure that a shipping company will
be treated as resident in Luxembourg and will thus be granted
all the advantages provided for by double taxation agreements,
the company in question must actually be managed from Luxembourg,
that is to say, the place where the Board of Directors and the
Shareholders' AGM actually meet, the place where the accounts
are kept and where the company's offices are located and that
where the company is actually managed.
Dividends, interest and
royalties received by the Luxembourg company
These various types of income that may be received by a company
operating ships engaged in international trade are subject to
Luxembourg tax but may also be subject to a limited withholding
tax in the country in which they originate. In absence of a
double taxation agreement, this withholding tax is likely to
be much higher.
Dividends, interests and
royalties paid out by the Luxembourg company
Luxembourg does not levy any withholding tax on interest.
As far as dividends are concerned, the standard rate of withholding
tax is 20%. In the case of a participation in the Luxembourg
company of at least 25%, the rate of tax varies from 5 to 10%
according to the different tax agreements. The dividends paid
by a Luxembourg company to its parent company established in
another EU member state are no longer subject to any withholding
tax if the participation is at least 10% and is held at least
for a period of 1 year. Royalties to be paid by a Luxembourg
company to a foreign company, e.g. rent also to be paid under
the terms of a leasing agreement, are subject to withholding
tax rate of 12%. This rate is reduced to 0%-10% under tax agreements.
Mortgages
Luxembourg has ratified the 1926 Brussels Convention on Liens
and Mortgages. There is only a limited fee for the Register
Luxembourg law provides effective protection to mortgagees and
other holders of liens and/or security interests.
There is no fee for registration of mortgage deeds on ships.
Is parallel registration
permitted?
Yes, Bareboating in and out is authorised.
Port facilities
As a member of the EU, Luxembourg flagged ships benefit from
agreements and arrangements concluded by the EU with third countries
concerning freight taxes or similar dues.
If you are interested in more information regarding mega yacht
registration in Luxembourg, please contact Gianni di Bari at
GTA (Luxembourg) S.A.
LUXEMBOURG
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SENIOR
CONSULTANT
Gianni Di Bari
Gianni is responsible for a portfolio of intermediary
and other clients
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English, French, Italian and German
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