Terms and conditions for use of the special temporary import regime for private pleasure boats
1. Private pleasure boats:
over 7 meters,
under the flag of a third country owned or held by persons who have their habitual abode in a third country/or flying the flag of another EU member state and owned by persons with their habitual abode in a third country and
for which the customs duties attributable to them have not been paid,
in order to move in Greek territorial waters, they must be provided with a Transit Log of a certain validity of 18 months for the temporary import regime, without the obligation to pay duties and taxes for the granted transit period. The above period may be extended for another six (6) months, without exceeding the limit of twenty-four (24) months, upon request of the beneficiary. The procedure for issuing a Transit Log is now carried out digitally. Specifically, in the case of submitting a "Transit Log" of Limited Validity, the person obliged to submit the "Transit Log" to the competent customs authority is either the person who brings the vessel for use in our country, regardless of whether or not he is the shipowner, and who has his habitual abode in the third country (owner - user), or the master, provided that he is authorized for this purpose by the owner - user. After declaring the vessel's arrival to the port authorities of the first Greek port of entry into the country, the obliged person digitally completes the required information in the "Transit Log" of Certain Validity and submits the required supporting documents for its issuance to the issuing customs office through the "Digital Transit Log Submission" app (https://www.aade.gr/en/transit-log).
"Habitual abode" is defined as the place where a natural person habitually resides, that is, for at least one hundred and eighty-five (185) days per twelve-month period, due to personal and professional ties.
At each intermediate port of call of the vessel, an arrival-departure declaration is required on the Crew and Passenger List by the competent Port Authority. In the event of the issuance of a Transit Log of limited validity, the Port Authority checks before the vessel departs whether the owner-user is on board the vessel.
Upon expiration of the right of transit, the vessel must be re-exported. The transit log holder is obliged to inform the Customs Authority of the last port from which the vessel will depart from Greek territorial waters and to digitally "regulate" its TL.
2. Private pleasure boats with an overall length of less than 7 meters, which are subject to the temporary import regime, are provided with a Temporary Import Certificate (TIC), like other means of transport placed under the temporary import regime (private cars, motorcycles, etc.) and not with a Transit Log.
Importation of private pleasure boats
According to the current provisions of EU and national VAT legislation (Directive 2006/112 and Law 5144/2024-Value Added Tax Code), the import into the country of private ships originating from third countries is subject to VAT. However, in the event that these ships are placed under temporary import upon their entry into our country, no VAT tax liability arises.
In cases where VAT is imposed, this tax is paid in accordance with the provisions of the customs legislation on import duties and other taxes by submitting an import declaration to the competent customs authority of import by the shipowner. The taxable value for VAT is determined in accordance with article 25 of the VAT Code.
In addition, VAT is also imposed upon the acquisition (purchase) of a new ship from another EU Member State 1 , which is intended to be used in our country. For the payment of VAT, a declaration must be submitted to the competent customs authority. The taxable value on which VAT is calculated is formed in accordance with Article 24 of the VAT Code. For the tax treatment from a VAT perspective of new maritime transport means acquired from other Member States, Decision of the Minister of Finance D.759/440/29.05.2003 (Government Gazette 729/Β) “VAT payment procedure for intra-Community acquisitions of new maritime transport means” has been issued.
In addition to the above, every private pleasure boat with a third country flag, sailing in Greek waters, is required to be provided with a Transit Log in order to be legally transported, in accordance with the provisions of the Decision of the Minister of Finance D.257/139/23-2-2000 (B' 378), as in force.
In the event that the ship is to remain in Greek territorial waters on a permanent basis, it is necessary to clear customs, as well as to pay the corresponding duties and taxes, in accordance with the applicable provisions.
This obligation to clear the private pleasure boat does not automatically create the obligation to fly the Greek flag. The shipowner, if he so wishes, may keep the flag of a third country on the ship. For its free movement in Greek territorial waters, after clearing customs, it is provided with the "Unlimited Transit Log".
According to Decision 1124/30-7-2024 of the Governor of IAPR which amended the Decision of the Minister of Finance No. D 257/139/23 02 2000 "Determination of the type of Transit Log" (B' 378 and B' 426), the obliged person digitally completes the required data in the "Transit Log" of Unlimited Validity and submits the required supporting documents for its issuance to the competent customs authority through the relevant application on the official website of IAPR.
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1 New means of maritime transport are considered boats over 7.5 meters in length, provided they are delivered within 3 months of their first transit or are delivered before the vessel has completed 100 hours of sailing.