⚓ CPS Croatia Yacht Charter Model® – Innovative solution for yacht operation in the EU
The CPS Croatia Yacht Charter Model® offers yacht owners a legally secure and economically attractive alternative to traditional yacht purchase and operation within the European Union. This model represents a modern solution, especially after the discontinuation of the well-known leasing models for VAT optimisation.
🛥️ Core elements of the model
Establishment of a Croatian shipping company: The yacht is acquired by a company established under Croatian law as a commercial asset without incurring VAT.
Charter operation without a minimum charter quota: The yacht must be officially offered for charter on the market. However, there is no mandatory minimum charter quota, which allows flexibility in utilisation.
Own and third-party charter: Own use by the beneficial owner (UBO) and their family is possible at normal market conditions as long as full own use per tax year is avoided.
Tax advantages: Income from chartering is subject to the reduced Croatian VAT rate of 13%, which can be claimed as a business expense.
Depreciation possibilities: The yacht can be depreciated via the Croatian company, which offers additional tax advantages.
⚠️ Advantages over traditional models
- Avoidance of VAT losses: VAT PAID status can be lost if the yacht is sold to a third country or if it is absent from the EU for a longer period of time. The CPS model minimises this risk.
- Legal certainty: Compliance with the Croatian legal framework and official registration of the yacht ensures a high level of legal certainty.
- Flexibility: The model allows both private use and commercial chartering, without rigid requirements.
✅ Our services
We offer comprehensive support in the implementation of the CPS Croatia Yacht Charter Model®.
- Establishment and administration of the Croatian company
- Registration and flag management of the yacht
- Preparation and review of charter contracts
- Tax advice and representation before the authorities
- Ongoing administrative and legal support
📞 Get in touch with us
We are at your disposal for individual advice.
Phone: +49 – 69 / 663 779 0
E-mail: mail@der-yacht-anwalt.de
We look forward to providing you with legal support for your yacht project in Croatia.
Since 2013 we are represented in Split
Croatia is our favorite MED destination!
As part of Croatia’s accession to the EU in 2013, we have been providing tax transfer services to many yachts. Since then, we have been continuously expanding our Croatia business, providing on-site support to private owners and charter companies and working on innovative maritime concepts.
With attorney Vedran Anic and Ivica Baban, our tax advisor, we have won two very well-known and reliable partners in Split.
In 2019 we have increaded by winning the register-specialist and Yacht-manager Mate Petrina aswell as the Yacht-Charter- und Maintenance Team of Ante Vujcic und Tea Novakovic
Together we can offer our clients in our specialized areas even more comprehensive support in Croatia:Private and commercial yacht operations in Croatia: Holding concept, company start-ups, flag and registrations, ongoing administrative, legal and tax support, Tax Agency, development of individual charter concepts and their implementation, representation before all authorities.
Furthermore Yacht-Charter-Management and Maintenance
The new CPS-Croatia-Yacht-Charter-Model ® – an Innovative and Economic Alternative for your Yacht-Buy and -Operation in the EU
The well known Leasing-Schemes for a turbo-VAT-taxation of Yachts are history. There is no replacement.
Against this background, we asked whether it was necessary at all to have
a) a VAT PAID status for his yacht and
b) whether there are legal and, where appropriate, more economical alternatives.
For many yachts, the taxes once paid are irretrievably lost, especially if the yacht is e.g. sold from the EU to a third country. If the yacht is traveling outside the EU for more than 3 years, it loses its VAT PAID status even without a change of ownership and must then be re-taxed at the time of its re-entry into the EU at the yacht’s current value. The market has shown that taxed and untaxed yachts usually have the same market value and the differences are not significant.
In the light of the findings, we have elsewhere sought innovative and legal forms.
- Legal and business center is a commercial shipping company under Croatian law.
- The latter purchases the yacht as a commercial asset.
- Although the yacht is commercial, Croatia does not need to comply with a commercial code. Registration and use is therefore often easier.
- The yacht must be officially offered for charter on the market, however, there is no minimum chartering rate to be achieved,
- have individual and foreign characters per tax year to achieve a certain but in practice good economic turnover,
- to which 13% of Croatian VAT is then paid, but which are deductible as an expense.
- Otherwise, the yacht can be chartered by the UBO and his family at special price rates, with the requirement that no 100% self-charter per tax year may be made. The model is thus suitable for owners who would like to offer a chartering for partial cost recovery but otherwise would like to use the yacht themselves via charter.
- All core operating costs can be claimed as an expense; and
- a depreciation rate of a yacht to be fixed by the shipowner.
- CPS Schließmann, as the creator of the design as well as the ongoing administration, offers a full-service program via the Frankfurt and Split offices.
We are convinced that the CPS-Croatia-Yacht-Charter-Model ® covers an urgent market need and is the solution for many owners of a legal and tax-efficient business, especially those operating less off-shore.
read more: STREIFZUG YACHTING 2021: Rechtliche und steuerliche Superyachtoptimierung