WRITTEN QUESTION E-0780/02 by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission. Tax levied by Greece on private leisure boats.
Date: 2002-03-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, Greece, charges for use of infrastructure, exchange of information, harbour installation, infringement procedure (EU), pleasure craft

C 229 E/136

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

26.9.2002

(2002/C 229 E/155)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0780/02

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 March 2002)

Subject: Tax levied by Greece on private leisure boats

Can the Commission confirm whether there have been talks between the EU and the Greek government on
the issue of tax levied on pleasure boats flying non-Greek flags?

If so, what has been the outcome of these talks?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(29 April 2002)

The tax to which the Honourable Member refers is levied whenever a private pleasure boat longer than
7 metres enters the country or approaches Greece’s ports, harbours or coast; it also applies to boats flying
the Greek flag but not permanently moored in Greek ports. For the purposes of this tax, ‘pleasure boats
permanently moored in Greek ports’ are taken to be those that spend fewer than 30 days a year outside
Greece.

The Commission considers this tax incompatible with the provisions of Articles 23, 25 and 133 of the EC
Treaty prohibiting charges having an equivalent effect to customs duties on imports between Member
States and direct imports from non-member countries.

The Commission can confirm that on 26 July 2001 it
formal notice of
12 September 2000 by sending the Greek authorities a reasoned opinion concerning the tax on pleasure
boats introduced by Article 11 of Greek Law No 2743/1999.

followed up its letter of

On 18 October 2001 the Commission received the Greek authorities’ response to the reasoned opinion,
which included four annexes.

Examination of these documents shows that the Greek authorities have not complied with the reasoned
opinion, though Article 34(1) of Law No 2932/2001 does make a number of substantive changes to
Article 11 of Law No 2743/99:

= A tax of 15 000 drachma per metre of a pleasure boat’s length used to be levied if it re-entered the
country and approached Greece’s ports, harbours or coast within 30 days of last doing so. This
represented a surtax on boats re-entering within a given period. This tax has now been reduced to
2000 drachma a metre, i.e. to the level applicable on its previous entry. The tax, however, remains
payable whenever a boat enters the country and approaches Greece’s ports, harbours or coast.

= Pleasure boats taking part in races, training voyages organised by sailing clubs and training schools or
the educational programmes of foreign ministries are exempt from the tax, subject to the approval of
the Shipping Minister.

= Commercial pleasure craft (carrying up to 49 passengers, with cabins other than the crew’s and used
exclusively for pleasure trips and/or excursions on a full charter basis), which were not previously
subject to taxes, are now.

The Commission is considering how best to follow up the procedure it has initiated.