Yachting

The role of the Resident Agent is to:

• act as the channel of communication between the international owner and the Maltese government departments and authorities;
• sign and file with Maltese government departments and authorities, on behalf of the international owner, declarations and forms required in terms of Maltese law;
• act as the judicial representative of the international owner for judicial proceedings in Malta, and for the purposes of the Act, any official notice sent to the Resident Agent at his last registered address shall be deemed to have been duly received by and notified to the international owner.

There are multiple advantages, in particular:

1. Pro-creditor environment with a reliable protection granted to ship financiers and creditors.

Mortgagees enjoy a high ranking interest secured by an executive title in the creditors’ hands enforceable upon debtor’s default without the need of a court judgment or similar order.

• The registration of subsequent mortgages or the transfer and deletion of a vessel can only occur with the mortgagee’s prior written consent; and in case of deletion the mortgage would still attach to the vessel;
• Mortgagee may also apply for any extensions, pay fees and do all is necessary to maintain the yacht validly registered;
• Mortgages attach to any proceeds from any indemnity as well as any insurance proceeds;
• Mortgages may also be registered in favour of a security trustee when acting under a trust for the benefit of person(s) or a syndicate of creditors.

2. Competitive company formation and yacht registration fees;
3. Attractive tonnage tax fee structure extendable also to non-Maltese registered vessels;
4. Tonnage Tax rules applicable also to commercial yachts and management entities;
5. Tax exemption on a shipping organisation’s profits or gains derived from the sale of a yacht if this was acquired and sold whilst under the tonnage tax regime or from the transfer of any purchase right if the yacht, when delivered or completed, could qualify under the tonnage tax rule;
6. A wide network of OECD based double taxation agreements and bilateral maritime related treaties;
7. One of the most competitive social security rates across the EU;
8. Malta is included on the white list of both Paris and Tokyo MOU and is a party to major international conventions;
9. A wide local community of maritime trained legal and accounting experts;
10. An industry characterized by a mutual and constant dialogue between the public/private sector;
11. English versatile network of professionals such as surveyors, lawyer, accountants and auditors.
12. Wide network of government appointed maritime surveyors familiar with Malta flag requirement;
13. Benefits from EU Cabotage and no navigational or trading restrictions;
14. Expedited procedures with respect to crew acknowledgement certification process;
15. Flag administration available 24/7 for registrations and emergencies regarding vessels;
16. Customer oriented flag administration is highly involved in discussions at IMO level, European and other international fora;

Yachts can be registered as “pleasure” or “commercial” yachts.

Commercial yachts are regulated by the Malta Commercial Yacht Code  which is updated regularly to mirror the most recent technological industry requirements. The Malta Commercial Yacht Code defines Commercial Yachts as yachts:

• Engaged in a lawful trade in the area of commercial operation for sport or pleasure purposes;
• Of all types such as historical, training and racing yachts;
• Having a minimum overall length of 15 metres;
• Which do not carry cargo or more than 12 passengers; and
• Certified under the provisions of the code.

Malta registered commercial yachts are categorized in different classes based on their size and gross tonnage. Each class requires compliance to particular sets of safety standards. Compliance to the Malta Commercial Yacht Code can be assessed either by a Malta government surveyor or an IACS Classification Society.

Malta registered commercial yachts may benefit from an effective tax rate of 5% or benefit from the tonnage tax exemption.

Yachts are provisionally registered for a period of six months (extendable for a further period of six months) following which, and subject to the fulfillment of certain requirements, may obtain a permanent registration.

Yes in accordance with the Commercial Yacht – Pleasure Yacht Changeover Guidelines issued by the Authority for Transport in Malta, Yachts registered as pleasure may convert their registration status to commercial. However, it is recommended that while the yacht is registered as pleasure this is kept always compliant with the standards of the Malta Commercial Yacht Code.

Malta introduced guidelines based on article 59A of the VAT directive on the VAT treatment of long-term leasing of yachts by a Maltese company in 2005 and amended from time to time to mirror recent EU jurisprudence and best market practices. Such rules, based on the type of use made of a pleasure yacht within or outside EU territorial waters, can reduce VAT incidence incurred on the long-term leasing of a pleasure yacht. Similarly, yachts used for short-term chartering purposes commencing from Malta may benefit from one of lowest VAT rates in the EU.

No there are no restrictions with respect to their nationality.

Seafarers serving onboard Maltese registered need to obtain an endorsement in their name while all other national seaman book, certificate of competency and ancillary certificates will be recognised by the flag state.