The Spanish Congress of Deputies has approved on Thursday 17 of October 2013 the bill, with reference number 121/000054, adopting measures regarding tax and environmental issues and adopting other tax and financial measures. The bill contains the modification of the current exemption foreseen in the Spanish Excise Duties Law (Law 38/1992) for vessels really and exclusively dedicated to the charter activity, eliminating the mention to the maximum length of 15 meters for these vessels. After this approval the bill has to be published in the Spanish for Official Bulletin of the State, the official gazetteof the Governmentof Spainin order to be mandatory. This is expected to happen in one week time.
This in practice means the opening of the Spanish yacht charter market to anyone interested to operate in, avoiding the payment of matriculation tax. This tax benefit does not mean the activity can be developed itself without previous approval. Even more, carrying out the charter activity without the necessary permissions might involve very important penalties and the loss of the matriculation tax relief benefit. Therefore it is completely necessary to go for a licensing procedure. However we it is extraordinary good news long claimed by the Spanish yachting-industry professionals.
Therefore this is excellent news for the entire Spanish marine industry. The tax amendment will allow Spain to participate in this market in the same conditions than our surrounding countries. This is the result of so many peoples’ efforts involved that have been working behind the scenes for many year and definitely will help to activate charter business in Spain. It is expected to see the effect of this measure on next year’s 2014 charter season.
For further information, please visit our Yachting Legal Guide in Spain.
