Confusion Over Portuguese Cruising Tax Levied On Yachts

Created by doina. Last modified on 2004-09-30 11:15:15
Countries: Portugal

On 24th Aug, the Portuguese Financial Police swooped on foreign yachts in marinas all around Portugal and the Azores, and enforced payment of a cruising tax. To say the least, there was considerable confusion caused by this, with some yachts being ignored and others forced to pay the tax.

I have since spoken to the marina manager at Lagos and can confirm that this tax can only be applied to yachts remaining in the country for 180 days or longer. Anyone who has paid the tax and can prove they have been in Portugal for less than 180 days should be able to get a refund.

The law has been on the statues for 30 years and is applied to Portuguese yachts. However, for the last 8 years since controls on visiting yachts were relaxed it has not been enforced against non resident yachts. This would appear to be a one-off attempt by the Financial Police to raise some revenue, since they only taxed yachts that had a crew onboard, and subsequently have not revisited any of the marinas.

The Portuguese Marina Operator's Association are making strong representations to the government so we may well see some further developments.

Jeremy Wyatt, Manager

World Cruising Club www.worldcruising.com