Croatia's entry into the European Union on July 1 this year will bring indirect short-term benefits to Montenegro when it comes to yachting tourism, as Croatia will become part of the EU's single customs area. Therefore, all citizens of the Union who have kept their yachts registered in Croatia until now will have to officially import and register them in Croatia, re-register them under one of the so-called flag of convenience. Or to look for a new home for their floating pets - primarily in Montenegro, Turkey or even on the African coast of the Mediterranean, in countries where EU legislation does not apply.
While Croatia was outside the EU, EU citizens could keep their yachts in its marinas where they had the status of so-called temporary importation, whereby rich "yachters" avoided paying high taxes to their countries. This will come to an end from July 1st, so the rich are already preparing to move to the next nearby "non-EU" destination, primarily Montenegro.
From July 1st, for all vessels in Croatian marinas, registered in EU countries, and which are temporarily imported into Croatia, the customs status changes and their owners are obliged to submit a customs declaration for release into free circulation of these vessels with payment of customs duty and of VAT. It is estimated that around 10 yachts, which are now tied up in Croatian marinas, will come under the impact of these status changes.
The government in Zagreb adopted temporary measures in order to attract the owners of these vessels to register them under the Croatian flag. For vessels intended for sport and leisure that are in the temporary import regime, VAT was first reduced - in the period from January 1 to May 31, it amounts to 5 percent, instead of the standard 25 percent. All vessels must go through the import customs procedure and be registered in the Croatian register, and for those who do not do so by July 1, VAT will be increased to 25 percent after that.
The government's partner is better off while Montenegro is outside the EU: From the ceremony in Porto Montenegro
The Adriatic Marinas company, which is developing the Porto Montenegro megayacht marina project in Tivat, has so far repeatedly emphasized the advantages of its project due to the fact that Montenegro is outside the European Union. Under the pressure and directives of Peter Munk's team, which bought the Tivat Arsenal in 2006 to build Porto Montenegro in its place, Montenegro passed a special Law on Yachts in 2007, which is "friendly" to the owners and operators of these expensive pleasure vessels. and recreation. That law is far from the standard that, when it comes to the fiscal policy towards "yachters", valid in the EU, so it offers a much more liberal and cheaper regime for the stay of foreign yachts in our waters, their possible import and registration under the Montenegrin flag, lower tax rates and much more, such as duty- and tax-free yacht fuel.
"Exactly the issue of taxes and taxis put Montenegro in a completely different light compared to, for example, Italy. Our offer is much more competitive due to the comparative advantage we have because we are in a country that is not a member of the EU", said Porto Montenegro brand manager Matt Morley at one time.
"With an ideal position between Venice and Corfu, Porto Montenegro offers clients a home port with comprehensive services in the heart of one of the most spectacular cruising destinations in the world.
The question is how compatible such an economy will be with the rules that apply in an organized community such as the EU, for which Montenegro is a candidate country.
Moorings are intended for yachts from 12 to 150 meters in length, and a wide selection of services and content includes regulations on taxes and imports that apply outside the countries of the European Union, fuel exempt from taxes and duties, VAT rate of seven percent on nautical services. it says, among other things, on the front page of the website of the Manco Nautical Center Porto Montenego.
How to move towards the EU and be a nautical offshore zone
Low taxes for yachting and the fact that the state border control regime for yacht owners in Montenegro is "light years" in a negative sense far from the rules in EU countries, especially those that are subject to the Schengen regime, which makes Montenegro actually in its economy it is developing a kind of unofficial offshore zones. Porto Montenegro is already like that, tomorrow it will be "Luštica bay" or SOCAR's project in Kumbor.
The question of how compatible such an economy will be with the rules that apply in an organized community such as the EU, for which Montenegro is a candidate state, has so far remained unanswered.
"I really cannot tell you at this moment how this way of conducting economic policy, that is, the existence of offshore companies, will affect the process of joining Montenegro to the EU. There are rules and it is regulated by the chapter on the free flow of capital, but I really don't know how it will develop further," said Ambassador Mitja Drobnič, head of the EU delegation in Montenegro, at a panel discussion on Montenegrin integration into the EU, which was recently held in Tivat.
In any case, it is difficult to imagine the option that Brussels officials "have mercy" on Montenegro when it is in a position to enter the Union, allowing it to be a sort of customs and tax haven for the residents of the same EU.
It is even more difficult to imagine that the Montenegrin government, faced with chronic penury and "playing" on the brink of state bankruptcy, adopting the rules of the game that apply in the organized EU, starts to annoy the partners it promotes, such as Peter Munk and Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan whose SOCAR leased a barracks in Kumbor.
Gallery
Bonus video:
