Commercial Yacht Registration Under The Malta Flag

The shipping registry in Malta is acknowledged today to be the fifth largest registry in the world and one of the largest within the European Union. But until recently, Malta only registered ships and private yachts under the Maltese Flag and no provision was made for the registration of Commercial Yachts.

With Malta’s accession to the European Union in May 2004, huge interest was shown in using the Maltese flag for yachts in the chartering business doing their trade with EU residents or in EU territorial waters. The challenge has been picked up by the Malta Maritime Authority which has now begun to flag commercial yachts too.

The operation of commercially registered yachts for chartering purposes using a Maltese company is very tax advantageous. Profits from chartering are taxed at 4.17% and the chartering business carried on by a Maltese registered entity is VAT exempt with credit meaning that while no VAT is charged to the client chartering the yacht, all VAT paid on purchases