Goodbye boat holidays in the Aegean, goodbye islands in the Sporades, goodbye moussaka? Discussed for years, the boat tax finally arrives in Greece. The infamous “Monti model” – which at the time caused Italian boats to escape for their coasts, as well as an important decrease in the related industries (much higher than the revenue generated by the tax) – has been exported to Greece. It should have come into effect these days, but the intervention of the Cruising Association has meant that the limit for the payment has been moved to April 2, 2019.
The boat tax must be paid by both Greek-flagged and foreign boats. So, all the Italian boaters who have their boat docked in Greece will have a bad surprise.
How much? Up to 12 meters in length, the fee is quite low: 192 euros for a 8-meter boat per year, 300 euros for a 10-meter boat and little less than 400 euros for a 12-meter model. Boats of over 12 meters in length, instead, are required to pay 8 euros per meter/year. So, for example, the owner of a 15-meter boat must pay up to 1,440 euros. However, some discounts are envisaged.
PROBLEMS
ut there is a huge problem: the tax – and this is really incomprehensible – can only be paid, for now, at the Greek port authority: so either you go to Greece to pay, or you have a trusted person who can carry out the payment for you on site, or they will fine you for non-payment. In reality, the registration of the boat and the payment of the tax could be made online, but the dedicated website www.aade.gr is in Greek and does not seem to be updated in such a way as to allow the operation.
What if you decide to take a holiday in Greece with your boat starting from Italy? In the first Greek port, you will have to comply by paying the amount for the period in which you will be sailing in Greek waters (the minimum amount is relative to one month).
DISCOUNTS
If the boat is kept ashore and this is communicated to the relevant port authority, the tax is not paid for the entire period in which the boat is actually ashore. If you pay in advance for the mooring year, a 10% discount will be applied. If the boats enter Greece for the first time, and decide to stay there the whole year, they will pay a discounted amount of 25% (the famous 15 meters, therefore, will pay € 1,1152).
The hope is that it will be possible to push the time limit for payment further forward in time, but dock rumors, unfortunately, seem to indicate that we have reached the point. Like the Croats, it seems that the Greeks have not studied in depth the negative repercussions of the “Monti tax” …
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