The new framework for the nautical charter is an opportunity for growth

During the Barcelona Boat Show a conference titled “The new legislative and fiscal scenario for the nautical charter sector” took place. It was organized jointly by ANEN and the boat show itself, and was a success in participation. The new normative gives an opportunity for growth by insisting on the necessity to streamline the legislative process and to unify criteria.

The exemption of the matriculation tax for the nautical charter, currently in a legislative process to come into force probably at the end of October 2013, has generated high expectations in all the subsectors that make up the recreational nautical sector.

It is an opportunity for growth for a sector that still needs improvement, specially when it comes to speeding up the administrative processes as well as to unifying criteria for the correct application of the future normative between the different autonomic administrations.

In the meeting two large thematic areas were addressed, each at their own round table where recognized experts in maritime law, representatives of yacht clubs and marinas and directors of service companies related to the charter industry participated.

“The matriculation tax has been a barrier to the foreign yachts entering in Spain, and put us at a competitive disadvantage compared to countries like UK, France etc. Now, with the exemption of the matriculation tax for charter yachts, the Spanish nautical sector will become more competitive, will generate more jobs and will reactivate a stagnated industry like the ports and nautical service companies”, declared Miguel Angel Serra, a lawyer and a participant of the first round table discussion.

The General Secretary of ANEN, Carlos Sanlorenzo, emphasized that “the elimination of the tax in the nautical charter will give a boost to the companies during the next season, when the new measure should already be in place”.

An aspect that one of the participants, a lawyer Leon von Ondarza, emphasized in the first part of the conference – which dealt with the legislative and administrative sections of the future norm – was the necessity to add an amendment which regulates the private use of charter boats by their owners.

ANEN has passed this vindication of the sector to the representatives of the Popular Party who participated in the conference.

In the second part of the debate, the representatives of the yacht harbours, amongst them Gabriel Martinez, the President of the Association of the Yacht Harbours in the Valencian Community, and Javier Adame, as a representative of the Marina Port Vell, explained how the yacht harbours are adapting themselves to the changing demand caused by the new normative regulating the nautical charter. Both emphasized the need to speed up the process as not to miss the opportunity to generate wellbeing by attracting tourism through the nautical charter.

To sum up, the nautical sector hopes that the new regulations regarding the nautical charter contribute to the recognition of this activity as an independent entity, and calls for speeding up the legislative and administrative processes, as well for unification of criteria in its application into practice.

Source: http://www.panoramanautico.com/turismo-nautico/el-nuevo-marco-del-charter-nautico-es-una-oportunidad-de-crecimiento/