REGISTRATION OF YACHTS
Danos & Associates through its partners offers Vessel Registration under a Cyprus flag.
The relevant legislation:
The Emergency Powers (Control of Small Vessels) Regulations of 1955 and any other legislation amending the same (‘Emergency Powers Regulations’).
The Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships, Sales and Mortgages) Law 45/63, as amended (“the Merchant Shipping Law”).
The High Speed Small Vessels Regulations of 1992 to 1999; P.I. 121/1999 (the “High Speed Small Vessels Laws”).
The High Speed Small Vessels Laws of 1992 to 2001; Law No. 56(I) of 1992 as amended, governing the matters in relation to the movement of high speed small vessels and for other relevant matters (the “High Speed Small Vessels Movement and Other Matters Regulations”).
European Directive 94/25/EC on recreational craft was adopted by the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) Regulations of 2003, P.I. 307/2003 which were published in Official Gazette No. 3706 on 18.4.2003, Supplement III(I).
European Directive 2003/44/EC which amends European Directive 94/25/EC on recreational craft was adopted by the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) (Amendment) Regulations of 2004, P.I. 537/2004 which were published in Official Gazette No. 3853 on 30.4.2004, Supplement III(I).
The above Regulations have been adopted to harmonize the national Cypriot laws with the European Directives.
It should also be noted that Recreational Craft Directive 94/25/EC as amended by Directive 2003/44/EC gives a definition of “recreational craft” as any boat of any type intended for sports and leisure purposes of hull length from 2,5 to 24 nm, measured according to the harmonized standard, regardless of the means of propulsion.
In addition, all recreational crafts including personal watercraft (jet skis) as well as all propulsion engines for recreational craft, which have been manufactured in Cyprus or in any other Member State of the EU or have been imported from a non- EU country and which will be placed on the Cyprus market after the 1st January 2006 need to comply with the provisions of the Basic Requirements (Recreational Craft) (as amended) Regulations of 2004, (PI 537/2004).
MAIN REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS IN CYPRUS:
All recreational crafts should be registered in:
In Register of Cyprus Ships (these vessels are permitted to sail in national and international waters), or
In the Register of Small Vessels (these vessels are permitted to sail only in the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus).
A yacht may be registered:
Under the Cyprus flag if it is acquired by a Cypriot person or legal entity.
Foreigners will commonly register a company which will own the yacht.
The application for registering a yacht is submitted to the Registrar of Cyprus Ships and it can be made even before the registration of the company which will own the yacht.
Some of the advantages of registering a vessel in Cyprus are:
No income tax on the profits derived by a Cyprus Ship-owning company nor any tax on any dividend of any Cyprus ship-owning company
Cyprus has double tax treaties with more than 40 countries
Existence of bilateral agreements between Cyprus and several other countries
No tax on dividends
No estate duty on the inheritance of shares
No capital gains tax on the sale or transfer of a ship or the transfer of the shares of a Cyprus ship-owning company
No tax on the salaries of crew members
The possibility of employing crew members of any nationality
Recognition of the Competence Certificate issued by Cyprus
Existence of a Collective Agreement between Trade Unions and Ship-owners
Cyprus ships can call at any port in the world
Possibility of provisional registration abroad
Minimum of red tape
Low tonnage tax and other duties paid for registration fees, etc.
Full protection and recognition of mortgages registered on a Cyprus Flag ship
Possibility of parallel registration of Cyprus ships in other countries
Possibility of parallel registration of foreign ships in the Cyprus Registry
Ship-management companies have the option, under certain conditions, to be taxed either according to the corporate rate of 12.5% or to a special tax, which is levied on the basis of the tonnage of ships, for which ship-management services have been rendered.
REGISTRATION OF AIRCRAFTS
Our firm through its associates with more than 20 years of experience in the field of aircraft registration offers Aircraft Registration in Cyprus and a complete range of professional services to aircraft owners and operators worldwide.
We provide aircraft registration services in the British overseas territories and other registries popular with corporate aircraft owners. We offer advice on the advantages, or disadvantages, of registering aircraft on a worldwide basis.
