Background Information To Procedures And Requirements For The Registration Of A Vessel Under The British Flag
An EU Citizen resident in the UK or a British National currently has the option to either:
a) Register his vessel in his own name.
OR
b) Register his vessel in the name of a Gibraltar (or other British) company which holds the vessel on his behalf.
Alternatively, an EU citizen or corporation resident in the EU or a British national or corporation resident anywhere in the world currently has the option to either:
a) Register his vessel in Gibraltar in his own name.
OR
b) Register his vessel in the name of a Gibraltar (or other British) company which holds the vessel on his behalf.
A non-EU citizen will ONLY ever be able to register his vessel under the British Flag if he holds it in the name of a Gibraltar Company or other British registered entity.
Memo On Vat
We can confirm that any vessel being registered in Gibraltar is guaranteed that no VAT will be levied upon its registration. However, this does not mean that Gibraltar Registered vessels are exempted from paying VAT if they are operated by EU nationals sailing in EU waters (only)!
If the above circumstances apply, it would certainly contribute to one’s peace-of-mind if VAT were to be paid on the vessel, and if the VAT receipt were to form part of the vessel’s papers. The reason for this is simply that VAT is likely to be levied against any vessel that spends more than 18 months at a time in EU CCT (Common Customs Tariff) waters, (regardless of whether the vessel is registered in Gibraltar or any other non-CCT port). Given that VAT only becomes payable on a vessel when it is first bought from a Builder or imported into the EU and not on any subsequent re-sale it may be useful, if only for re-sale purposes, to be able to prove that VAT had already been paid on it.
Summary Of Requirements And Procedures For The Registration Of A Vessel Under The British Flag
In order to secure the registration of a vessel in the name of a Gibraltar company, we would require you to supply us with the following:
- A Bill of Sale in a format compliant with the Gibraltar Yacht Registry requirements. This document is to be signed by the vendor of the vessel before a Notary Public, a British Consul or a Commissioner of Oaths, (please note that we are Registered Commissioners for Oaths in Gibraltar).
N.B. In the case of a new vessel, if we are provided with the original Builder’s Certificate and the original invoice made out by the Builder in favour of the company that is to act as the vessel’s registered owner, it may well be possible to dispense with the need for the Bill of Sale. - In the case of a new vessel, either the original Builder’s Certificate or a Notarised copy of the same.
- In the case of an older vessel, please provide us with:
• A copy of the vessel’s current Certificate of Registration.
• Copies of all Bills of Sale tracking the ownership of the vessel from the Builders Yard to its current ownership.
• A copy of the passport of the previous owner who signed the Bill of Sale to sell the vessel to your Company’s name.
• A Deletion Certificate from its present Registry so that it may be able to seek registration under the British Flag. - Confirmation of the Port and the name of the vessel that is to be registered.
- A Measurement and Tonnage Survey to be conducted by any one of the following Classification Societies:
• Bureau Veritas
• Lloyds of London
• Germanischer Lloyd
• American Bureau of Shipping
• Det Norske Veritas
• RINA
• The YBDSA
The first step in securing the registration of a vessel in under the British Flag in the name of a Company, should be the setting-up of the company itself which can then be named on the Builders Certificate or in the Bill of Sale as the Purchaser of the vessel.
The next step would be to obtain a Measurement and Tonnage Survey Certificate for the vessel from any one of the recognised Classification Societies named above, or have the existing data from a Builders Certificate or an EU Registry re-calculated to conform to British Flag standards. Once all of the conditions listed above have been met, then the registration of the vessel itself is a formality by comparison.
Costs Of Registration Of A Vessel Under The British Flag
We can confirm that our total costs for processing the registration of a vessel under the British Flag, applying for a Radio Licence in its name, and acting as Registered Agent for the vessel for the first 12 months would be GBP £850 assuming that we were not required to assist in arranging a Measurement and Tonnage Survey for the vessel (which would involve additional costs).
Yacht Insurance
FORM-A-CO (GIBRALTAR) LIMITED will be pleased to assist with placing yacht insurance proposals at competitive rates through major insurance companies.
- All costs appearing in this package are subject to review on a periodic basis and FORM-A-CO (GIBRALTAR) LIMITED reserves the right to amend fees for this service without prior notice.