In May 2019, the Italian National Union of Shipyards and Nautical Industries (“UCINA”), in the light of a new interpretation of the EU customs legislation, started discussions with the Italian Customs Agency regarding Commercial Yachts and YETs (Yachts Engaged in Trade) registered in a non-EU member state. UCINA requested the Italian tax authorities to clarify if a commercial vessel and YETs may enjoy a temporary importation regime, arguing that, today, also the French and Spanish customs authorities confirmed such possibility in recent official explanations. According to the French and Spanish authorities, these vessels may circulate in national waters even during a charter/charter contract departing from national ports, in compliance with the conditions provided by the temporary admission regime, since it is no longer mandatory to proceed with the import of the vessel, before the start of a charter contract.
The Customs Agency has not yet responded to UCINA’s requests for clarification and has not made known the timing to issue a reply. Hence, as of today, the admission to the temporary importation regime for commercial yachts and YETs in Italy is still considered uncertain. If a yacht owner is interested in receiving a prompt answer on the matter, according to Italian law, it is possible filing an official request, the so-called “interpello” to Customs Authority which must reply within 90 days (failure to reply is considered by law “tacit approval” to the interpretative solution indicated by the taxpayer). Such a reply will only apply to the specific case object of the request.
PG Legal provides high-level tax and custom advice to its clients, also assisting them in drafting and filing such official requests (interpelli) before the Italian Customs Authority.
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For more on this please don’t hesitate to contact Domenico Rinaldi at d.rinaldi@pglegal.it