Offshore Trust Company, Offshore Planning, Offshore Relocation

Yacht administration

The Isle of Man Ship Registry

As the Super-yacht market has grown it became apparent that there was a need to regulate and develop a code of practice for these vessels, other than those which already applied to commercial vessels and smaller sailing or motorized pleasure yachts. So in 1997 The "Code of Practice for Safety of Large Commercial Sailing and Motor Yachts" was introduced, and has since become the recognized international safety standard for yachts over 24 meters in length (the minimum size requirement for a super-yacht). The Code soon became known as the “Megayacht Code”.

The Code was introduced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and was developed from initial work carried out by the Isle of Man Marine Administration. In 2003 the Isle of Man brought in legislation adopting the Code and establishing a register, and since then it has become the jurisdiction of choice for many owners and agents in which they can register and manage their vessel.

The Isle of Man Register is a component part of the British Register.

The Island is now a "Centre of Excellence" in the Irish Sea with locally based expertise in:

Ship Management
Ship Finance
Marine Insurance
Maritime Law
Trust and Company formation with maritime expertise
Yacht administration

Today the Isle of Man is also the flag of choice for the most prestigious of the world's super-yachts.

Many clients already appreciate that there are benefits of corporate rather than personal ownership, those being separation of ownership, perpetual succession, limitation of liability (in the event of there being an accident which may lead to injury, loss of life or environmental damage such as pollution) and possibly financial, tax and estate planning opportunities presented by using a corporate vehicle as owner, depending on the individual's personal circumstances.

As far as the Isle of Man is concerned, if the yacht was owned by an IOM company and registered as a commercial vessel, there are some direct benefits which are as follows:

Tax efficiency

Isle of Man resident companies engaged in these activities are subject to Manx taxation but at our zero percent corporate tax rates. This ensures long-term certainty of tax efficient ownership of the yacht.

VAT

If the owner intends chartering the yacht to third parties, the company may register in the Isle of Man for VAT purposes. This would ensure that the company could recover VAT payable on the acquisition of the yacht (for which the owner would otherwise be liable as an EU/EEA-based principal user). The company could also reclaim VAT on qualifying VAT related expenses (fuel, maintenance & parts, administration fees, etc.).
Relative to other EU structures, the Isle of Man is particularly attractive as it is possible to "import" the yacht without physical delivery of the yacht to the United Kingdom or Isle of Man.

The reclaim of the VAT is covered by the EC 8th Directive, the full text of which can be found below.

CLICK HERE

Note that although the Isle of Man is not a member of the EU, it is included with the UK for VAT purposes and hence this directive applies.

Isle of Man Flag

Notwithstanding the Island's favourable VAT status, the Isle of Man is not part of the EU. This means that Isle of Man flagged yachts enjoy the benefits of the prestigious British "Red Ensign" yet avoid most of the disadvantages (crewing requirements, etc) of EU flagged yachts. Moreover, the Isle of Man Marine Administration is highly regarded for quality and service, providing a number of added benefits in ease of operations, financing, etc.

We can obtain full VAT and tax advice if required. The above covers the fundamental benefits for using an IOM company and IOM commercial registration.

HL Fiduciaries Limited, as a Corporate Service Provider, can assist in the following areas:

Ensuring the owner is registered for VAT
Completing the VAT returns to enable recovery of the VAT paid on the yacht purchase and on related expenses
Liaise with Customs on matters related to the yacht