The Chelco VAT International Academy continues its Fall academic calendar with a morning seminar on the treatment of VAT transactions in the shipping industry.

Academy instructor and Director of Chelco VAT Ltd, Panayiotis Iona, will analyse the main types of activities undertaken by companies engaged in the shipping industry and explain how they should be approached and treated from a VAT perspective. The session will focus on the guidelines of the EU VAT Directive, with reference to the Cyprus VAT legislation, where required. Key decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) will also be examined that will help clear some of the grey areas of shipping-related VAT legislation.

The shipping industry has a multitude of different transactions to consider with regards to their VAT treatment. At the same time, a number of shipping services are granted a VAT exemption (more commonly known as being 0% VAT rated). Applying the exemption can be difficult to achieve given the fact that it should be interpreted strictly as it allows for non-taxation. In many cases, the involvement of intermediaries in providing some of these services, creates confusion as to whether the 0% rate can be applied throughout the chain. 

The shipping industry in Cyprus and Limassol in particular, is a major part of the island’s economy with some of the biggest players of the world’s shipping market establishing their business operations here.

The seminar is open to any professional working in or offering professional services to the industry, regardless of position or competence, and who would like to gain a better understanding of how VAT works in shipping.