VAT on commercial yachts

Paul Micallef Grimaud from GANADO Advocates, was one of the two advocates that successfully represented plaintiff in obtaining payment from defendant vessel for VAT dues. Defendant argued that VAT was not due on services rendered and supplies provided by plaintiff since defendant was a commercial vessel.

Plaintiff successfully argued that defendant had not provided it with evidence of its status as commercial vessel, nor had it obtained a ruling from the VAT Commissioner exempting it from payment of VAT. Hence, VAT was due by the defendant vessel. The Court upheld plaintiff’s position and ordered the defendant vessel to pay plaintiff the VAT dues.

A copy of the judgement (in Maltese) is available by clicking here.

This judgement was also covered in the law report prepared by Dr Karl Grech Orr and published in the Times of Malta (28 July 2014).