Buying a boat

Buying a boat, the procedure to be followed is not the same in all cases,

This section will concentrate in 3 most usual cases :

a.                  Buying a Boat with Greek Flag

The majority of listed boats are with Greek Flag.

Buying a Greek flag boat by a foreign national means that most probably the boat has to change flag.

The boat can remain in the new ownership under the Greek Flag under certain conditions and requirements however the new owner (as non Greek National) usually will prefer to change the registration to his country.

The majority of sailing yachts under Greek Flag above 30 feet, are VAT exempt.

This is due to a charter status that they maintain although many of those boats one way or another are actually used only as private yachts.

After an agreement is reached for the purchase of the yacht you have selected, we will draw a Memorandum of Agreement (M.O.A.) between the Seller and the Purchaser where all the parameters of the sale will be included together with an inventory list.

The Greek Law requires a certain bureaucratic procedure to be followed during the transaction which however safeguards the interests of the Buyer and prevents any debts or any other financial burdens that could exist on the boat to follow the boat after the purchase.

It is our recommendation to the interested buyer to use a lawyer to act as his representative on the purchase.

This lawyer will perform checking of boat titles and documentation required by the Greek State and furnished by the Seller, inspection of registry files and finally monitor deletion procedure of boat from the Greek Registry.

Furthermore payments can go from the Buyer to the lawyer who will pay the Vendor according to the terms of the Purchase Agreement.

Following signing of the M.O.A. by both parties we can recommend you a lawyer of Athens experienced in this kind of transactions.

It is understood that the lawyer is acting on behalf of the Buyer and thus is paid by him.

The cost so far for this service has amounted to Euro 700.

A boat that has no VAT paid will be required to pay this VAT if the boat is sold to an E.U. National.

Even a E.U. National though maybe exempted from payment of VAT if his commercial activity during purchase may include boat chartering.

The VAT in Greece amounts to 19%.

The duration of the purchase procedure in Greece , from signing of M.O.A. to deletion of boat from the Greek Register will amount to around 5 weeks.

The boat can be sailed by the new owner only after a Bill of Sale has been issued and officially signed by the Vendor as well as by the Buyer and also the Deletion Certificate has been issued.

A yacht sold to a non E.U. Citizen does not require to pay any outstanding VAT to the boat.

He will require though the yacht to be custom cleared from the E.U.

The cost of this transaction varies between ports and can lie between Euro 400 – 600.

The custom clearing will take place before the deletion from the Greek Register.

We will arrange for a custom clearer to perform this procedure on your behalf.

Duration of this procedure normally does not exceed 3 working days.

b.                 Buying a Yacht with E.U. Flag

Buying a boat in Greece with a E.U. but non Greek Flag the procedures are the same as if the yacht is bought in another E.U. Country.

In this event we will still draw a Sales & Purchase Agreement “Memorandum of Agreement” M.O.A. between you as Buyer and the Vendor.

We will then follow the procedures as these are dictated by the E.U. State the yacht is registered in.

c.                  Buying a Yacht with a non E.U. Flag

The procedure to be followed in this case is similar to the procedure mentioned in paragraph “b” above.