Sail Away..Sail Away..
The Cruising Association has a copy, in Greek, of a law debated by the Greek Government which will be implemented once it has been published (gazetted)
The law introduces a "Staying Fee" to be levied on small leisure craft over 7m LOA which sail, moor or anchor in Greek waters.
The fee will apply to both commercial and private craft.
The registration document LOA will be used for calculating fees.
The fee is payable from 1st January, 2014. It will cover one calender year's stay, with an option to pay for monthly periods for craft over 12m LOA. Amounts are:
7m - 8m £166.81 (£166.81 (€200) )
8m – 10m £250.21 (£250.21 (€300) )
10m – 12m £333.62 (£333.62 (€400) )
Over 12m £83.4 (£83.4 (€100) )/metre
Vessels over 12m have two options to reduce costs; pay £8.34 (£8.34 (€10) ) per metre for the month ahead, or be “permanently based” in Greece and obtain a 30% discount from the annual fee.
Receipts for fees must be carried with ships papers, and may be asked for at any time. The receipt is valid for the whole period of pre-payment, and remains valid if the boat leaves Greek waters and returns later. Rebates are not payable for periods out of Greek waters.
“Electronic” payment will be possible annually in December for the following year, or on entry into Greek waters. When arriving in a port of entry, EU boats obtaining a DEKPA, and non-EU boats obtaining a Transit Log, can pay cash on arrival.
Boats already in Greece on 1 Jan 2014 will need to pay at their local tax office or port authority to remain in Greece.
A similar proposal by the government of Flanders was deemed illegal by the EU Commission some years ago as it infringes the Treaty of Rome by restricting the free movement of people and their possessions across national borders.
So The international yacht community in Greece has a fight on its hands.
First thing - refuse to pay.
Second many people, will sail away westwards into the sunset
and let them whistle for their tax.
.
Hopefully boatyard and marina operators will see the dangers of such a tax and will lobby their government. as they will soon realise that they would lose more than they could gain for tourism is the prime, if not the main industry of Greece,
- Shops,
- Marina's,
- Taverna's
- Boatyards,
- Charter companies,
- Hotels,
- Ferries and
- Airlines.
These latter day Trojans will see an armada of small boats setting sail and leaving such crazy madness in their wake....
How are the mighty fallen - The Greatest Shipping Nation in the World reduced to beggary...
