In this article we would like to remind you what the state navigation aid tax, also known as T0 tax, is and how it is applied.
This state tax was created in Law 48/2003 on November 26, with application to the Economic Regime and the Provision of Services to Ports of General Interest. Tax name is Maritime Signalling Service. Currently, the revised text of the Spanish Law on Ports and the Merchant Marine (RDL 2/2011 of November 5) is naming it as Tax for Aid to Navigation.
The taxable event is the use of the maritime signalling service managed by the Port Authority of the geographical area to which it is assigned. In our case, it is the Barcelona Port Authority (APB) that has assigned the provinces of Barcelona and Girona.
The liable subject of the tax is the owner of the vessel, whom the Law defines as a “taxable subject”, although it defines the concessional port facilities as “substitute liable subjects” (who must supply the data, deal with the tax obligations and demand from the taxpayer the recalculation of the amount of the obligations paid in accordance with article 36 of the Spanish General Tax Law).
The fee must be paid by both merchant and fishing boats as well as those for sports and recreation to which, due to their characteristics, it is applicable. In this second group, it is necessary to distinguish whether they are motor or sailing boats, and the tax rate is also based on the length and beam, the length of the stay, and the consideration of being or not based[1] in a Spanish port[2]. Thus, different cases are distinguished:
a.Sailboats up to 12 m in length[3]: they are exempt from paying the fee.
b.Motorboats less than 9 m in length and based in a Spanish port: the fee is only paid once when registering the boat, and the amount is T0 = length (m) x beam (m) x 22,8 (€/m2).
c.Motorboats less than 9 m in length that do not have a base in a Spanish port (in transit): the fee is accrued in the Spanish port where the stopover is made, and the amount is obtained by prorating the result of the formula in the section b) above by the number of days of stay in Spanish waters (complete days or fractions).
d.Motorboats of length equal to or greater than 9 m and sailboats of length greater than 12 m that are based in a Spanish port: the fee is accrued in the base port and is paid each year at the rate of T0 = length (m) x beam (m) x 9,12 (€/m2).
e.Motorboats of length equal to or greater than 9 m and sailboats of length greater than 12 m that do not have a base in a Spanish port (in transit): the fee is accrued in the Spanish port where the call is made, and the amount is obtained apportioning the result of the formula in section d) above by the number of days of stay in Spanish waters (complete days or fractions).
The regulations also specify that the amount collected will be distributed between the ‘Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Marítima’ (49.12%) and the Port Authority itself (50.88%).
[1] A boat has a base port when it is in a certain port more than 180 days a year.
[2] Regardless of the flag of the vessel.
[3] It is necessary to consider the dimensions of the vessel which appear in its documentation
The Club Náutico Estartit, therefore, only acts as a collector of this fee which is paid in full, and in advance at the beginning of the year, to the Port Authority of Barcelona.