Up until now, it had been understood that yachts operating under the French Commercial exemption could also cruise in Italian waters although no formal statement had previously been issued by the Italian authorities.
On 12 January 2017, Resolution N.2/E was issued by the Italian Fiscal Authority ‘Agenzia delle Entrate’, providing clarity on tax exemption for vessels designed to navigate on high seas under article 8-bis of Presidential Decree n.633 of 1972.
This is very similar to the French Commercial Exemption with the same 70% rule being applied in order to obtain VAT exemption for:
- VAT exempt fueling and provisioning;
- VAT exempt sales of onboard equipment, components and spare parts for vessels;
- VAT exempt sales, refit works, repair and maintenance works for vessels.
As with any such resolution, there are several points that require clarification and this information will follow together with further comment from ourselves over the coming weeks
Although this does not mean a big change to the way yachts are currently operating, it does provide clarity on operations in Italy.
Learn more about fuel and leasing procedures in Italy, in our latest blog.