New Annual Greek Tax for pleasure boats and other B Class ships ( Ship Tax Declarations for Second Category Ships under Law 27/1975)

Under Law 27/1975, ship tax declarations for second category ships must be submitted according to the following guidelines. This applies to both individuals and legal entities involved in ship ownership, chartering, or leasing. The declarations must be submitted digitally, and the tax is calculated based on the ship's Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) with specific rates and increase factors depending on the ship's construction year.

Q: Who is required to submit a ship tax declaration for ships under the Greek flag?

A: Those required to submit a ship tax declaration for ships under the Greek flag for the fiscal years 2023 and onwards include:

The shipowner (individual or legal entity),

The charterer (individual or legal entity) of a ship under bareboat charter,

The lessee (individual or legal entity) of a ship under financial leasing,

Shipowners according to their ownership percentage, if the ship belongs to more than one owner,

Co-ownership or society with joint liability of all co-owners or society members, respectively, in case of commencement of co-ownership or society activities,

The charterer (individual or legal entity) of a ship providing transportation services with fully equipped and manned ships of other companies chartered based on time/voyage, alongside the operation of their own and bareboat chartered ships, under the conditions of the joint decision A.1049/2023 (B'2577) by the Ministers of Finance and Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy.

Q: Who is required to submit a ship tax declaration for ships under the EU and EEA flags, excluding the Greek flag?

A: Those required to submit a ship tax declaration for ships under the EU and EEA flags, excluding the Greek flag, for the fiscal years 2023 and onwards include:

The shipowner (individual or legal entity),

The charterer (individual or legal entity) of a ship under bareboat charter,

The lessee (individual or legal entity) of a ship under financial leasing,

The charterer (individual or legal entity) of a ship providing transportation services with fully equipped and manned ships of other companies chartered based on time/voyage, alongside the operation of their own and bareboat chartered ships, under the conditions of the joint decision A.1049/2023 (B'2577) by the Ministers of Finance and Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy,

The ship manager or the legal representative and guarantor of the shipowner.

Q: Who is required to submit a ship tax declaration for ships under a foreign flag?

A: Those required to submit a ship tax declaration for ships under a foreign flag for the fiscal years 2023 and onwards include:

The charterer/company of a ship providing public revenue maritime transportation services with fully equipped and manned ships of other companies chartered based on time/voyage, and

The managing company under article 25 of Law 27/1975 on behalf of the shipowning company, the bareboat charterer, or the ship lessee, as applicable.

Q: What are the conditions for a ship charterer providing maritime transportation services with fully equipped and manned ships of other companies chartered based on time/voyage, alongside operating their own ships, to be subject to tonnage tax and therefore submit a declaration?

A: The conditions are:

Either at least 25% of the total fleet of the beneficiary must fly the flag of an EU or EEA member state, or

The share of the time/voyage chartered ships that do not fly the flag of an EU or EEA member state must not exceed 75% of the beneficiary's fleet taxed according to tonnage.

If the tonnage tax beneficiary meets at least one of the above conditions, they are required each year to increase or at least maintain the share of their fleet flying the flag of an EU or EEA member state (own ships or bareboat chartered) compared to the previous year.

Companies that, besides operating their own and bareboat chartered fleets, also commercially exploit time/voyage chartered fleets with fully equipped and manned ships of other companies, are required to submit a statement in January each year listing their own and bareboat chartered fleets, as well as the fully equipped and manned ships of other companies they chartered based on time/voyage, showing the fleet's tonnage share that qualifies them for tonnage tax.

Q: How are ship tax declarations submitted?

A: Second category ship tax declarations are submitted digitally either by the obligated individuals themselves, if they are natural persons, or by the legal representative of a legal entity, or by the legal representative of the managing company under article 25 of Law 27/1975, or by an authorized tax accountant with their personal access codes.

In case of proven technical inability to complete the digital submission of the second category ship tax declaration under Law 27/1975, as well as the accompanying forms, the declaration is submitted within ten (10) working days after the submission deadline to the competent AAD service as follows:

By sending a request through the "My Requests" application on the "myAADE" digital portal, attaching scanned files of the declaration and the required documents under article 5 of this notice, or by sending the above in a physical envelope either by registered mail or by courier service. The submission date of the declaration to the competent AAD service is considered as: The date of sending the request in the "My Requests" application if the request is recorded in the application by the end of the last day of the deadline, or The date of sending the physical envelope as evidenced by the postmark or the courier service stamp. The postal or courier receipt serves as proof of submission and is considered as proof of receipt by the recipient.

By submitting at the protocol office of the competent service. The "My Appointments" application on the myAADE digital portal allows scheduling appointments for submitting declarations for the services included in the "My Appointments" application.

Q: When is the declaration submitted, and in how many installments is the tax paid?

A: The declaration is submitted by the last working day of March of each tax year for the previous tax year.

For ships chartered based on time/voyage by commercial operators, a declaration is submitted to the competent tax authority by the last working day of March each year, according to the ship status as of January 1st of the previous year, per paragraph 2 of article 1 of joint decision A.1049/2023.

The tax is paid in two (2) equal installments, with the first installment due by the last working day of April and the second by the last working day of June, respectively.

Exceptionally, for the tax year 2023, the declaration is submitted by July 26, 2024, and the tax is paid in two (2) equal installments, with the first due by the last working day of July 2024 and the second by the last working day of September 2024, respectively.

Q: When is the declaration submitted, and the tax amount paid in the event of an auction of a ship under the Greek flag?

A: In the event of an auction of the ship, the declaration is submitted, and the tax amount is paid in a lump sum by the last working day of the month following the issuance of the final auction decision.

Q: When is the declaration submitted, and the tax amount paid in the event of the total destruction or sinking of a ship under the Greek flag?

A: In the event of total destruction or sinking of the ship, the declaration is submitted, and the tax amount is paid in a lump sum by the last working day of the second month following the event that necessitates the ship's deregistration from the port authority's registry, where the ship was registered under the Greek flag.

Q: In which cases is the issuance of the certificate under article 19 of Law 27/1975 required?

A: The certificate is required in cases of transfer of ownership of the ship or its mortgage, transfer for voluntary dismantling of the ship, transfer of part of the ship when it belongs to multiple shipowners, and deregistration of the ship from the registry according to paragraph 3 of article 18 of the KDD (Law Decree 187/1973, A'261).

Q: For which tax period is the declaration submitted in case of a ship transfer?

A: In case of a ship transfer, a declaration is submitted for the period from the beginning of the respective tax year until the expiry date of the certificate under article 19 of Law 27/1975, i.e., two months from the date of its issuance (related circular E.2045/2023 by the Governor of AADE).

Q: How is the declaration submitted if the shipowner has deceased?

A: In this case, the declaration is submitted by the legal heirs in the name and on behalf of the deceased for the period from the beginning of the respective tax year until the date of the taxpayer's death either through the "My Requests" application or by sending a physical envelope via postal service or by submitting it at the protocol office of the competent service.

Q: What is the procedure for calculating the tax?

A: Ship tax is calculated based on the following scale:

DETERMINATION OF TAX BASED ON SHIP GRT (paragraph 1, article 12 of Law 27/1975) AND INCREASE FACTORS (paragraph 2, article 12 of Law 27/1975)

INCREASE FACTORS (paragraph 2, article 12 of Law 27/1975)

Year of Construction Increase Factor Up

Example Calculation

Example: If a ship is 2,000 GRT, the tax calculation would be as follows:GRT 1, 500 GRT (up to 800): 500 GRT x 0.60 EUR/GRT = 300 EURGRT 2, 2,000 GRT - 800 GRT = 1,200 GRT: 1,200 GRT x 1.00 EUR/GRT = 1,200 EURTotal tax: 300 EUR + 1,200 EUR = 1,500 EURIf the ship was built in 2005, the increase factor would be 1.3, making the total tax = 1,500 EUR x 1.3 = 1,950 EUR.