Buying and selling boats in Italy: everything you need to know before buying
The regulation concerning the purchase and sale of boats entails a distinction, by virtue of the taxation consequences.
Indeed, it is necessary to distinguish recreational boat in two large categories:
- registered movable assets (ships and boats), for which it is necessary to stipulate a regular sale act by means of notarial deed, in order to transfer ownership, and proceed with recording in the public registers.
- simple movable assets (crafts), for which the transfer of ownership does not require any written sale act, since the only possession constitutes a sufficient title for the ownership transfer. However, the purchaser must have an invoice, a customs bill or a registered deed, indicating, in addition to the fulfillment of tax and customs duties, the information of the person concerned and the technical description of the unit being bought and sold.
If the craft were to be entered in the register of recreational boats, the discipline to be applied will be that dictated for the latter.
With regard to the tax regulations for VAT purposes on the purchase and sale of boats, it is first necessary to note that the application of the tax in question occurs in the presence of the following assumptions:
- Subjective, that is, VAT applies only when the seller acts in business context, or rather performs a commercial activity as a regular profession.
Therefore, depending on the type of seller, the tax discipline changes.
If the seller acts in business context and is resident in Italy, he is considered taxable for VAT purposes. Otherwise, if the seller is a private individual resident in Italy, VAT does not apply to the transactions carried out by him, as the registration tax is then applied and the amount varies according to the length of the unit.
- Territorial, or better, VAT applies if the operation is carried out in the territory of the State.
Buying and selling boats in Italy: how to make ownership transfer and what are the charges?
For the purchase and sale of boats, the transfer of ownership takes place with different forms:
- for crafts, since they are non-registered movable assets, no written transfer document is required, as the rule of “possession equals title” applies, pursuant to the article 1153 of the Italian Civil Code, provided that the purchaser, at the time of delivery, is in good faith and that there is an appropriate qualification for the transfer of ownership.
- for boats, being registered movable assets, the title of property must be presented to the Office where the unit is registered, within 60 days from the date of the transfer, with the required documentation attached.
The registration tax relating to the ownership title for the recreational boat is applied with variable amounts depending on the length of the hull.
The charges are as follows (Dpr 131/86):
1. for crafts:
- up to 6 meters overall length € 71;
- over 6 meters € 142;
2. for boats:
- up to 8 meters overall length € 404;
- up to 12 meters € 607;
- up to 18 meters € 809;
- over 18 meters € 1,011;
3. for ships of over 24 meters length € 5,055.
Buying and selling boats in Italy: pay attention to the registration obligation
The purchase and sale of boats in Italy (ships and recreational boat) is followed by the registration, which is compulsory and subject to payment of an administrative fee. The registration must take place within 60 days from the date of ownership transfer, by transcription in the respective registers and the annotation on the navigation license.
The receipt of the documents presented for the public naval records, issued by the registration office, replaces the navigation license for a maximum duration of 20 days.
The crafts are excluded from the registration obligation, the navigation license and the security certificate. However, at the request of the interested party, the crafts can also be entered in the register of recreational boats with consequent application of the relative rules.
The ships and recreational boats entered in the registers must display the national flag and are distinguished by the abbreviation of the office where they are registered and by the registration number.
Buying and selling boats in Italy: what do you need to know about imports and exports?
Taking effect from 1 January 1993, with the process of integration between EU countries and the harmonization of fiscal provisions, the concepts of import and export have changed (also with regard to the sale of boats: motorized, sailboat, new or used).
In details:
- for importation it applies to the introduction of goods originating from countries outside the EU into the territory of the State of Italy;
- for export, on the other hand, it applies to the exit, by means of transport or shipment, of goods outside the EU territory.
Besides the last categories, others have been introduced, namely:
- intra-community purchase, or the purchase against payment of assets transferred from one EU country to another, between subjects identified for VAT purposes;
- intra-community sale, or the sale against payment of assets transferred from one EU country to another.
Another novelty, introduced in 1993, is the one concerning the transactions between private individuals in the EU, which in the past was included in the category of imports and exports. Today these operations are subject to specific tax in the country of origin, being considered the same as any transaction within the country.
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