1. Introduction

[3-001] Introduction. There is a wide variety of transactions that are routinely carried out by yacht-builders, owners, charterers, brokers, shipyards and suppliers throughout the European Union. Typical examples include the construction,1 sale, purchase,2 charter,3 repair or maintenance of a yacht, its fuelling or provisioning, and its import into or export from the European Union. For each transaction the person making the supply must consider whether VAT (or its local equivalent) should be charged. For the purposes of this chapter, the tax is referred to as VAT (unless otherwise stated) whichever the Member State in question. Given the international nature of the yachting world, particularly the world of superyachts, the VAT treatment of these transactions can be complex. At the outset, therefore, the reader and the person making the supply must recognise the need to obtain appropriate professional tax advice in respect of a particular transaction or set of circumstances. The complexity of yacht transactions is such that reading this chapter alone would not be a substitute for specialist tax advice. This chapter gives only an outline of the VAT treatment of such supplies.