61st Genoa International Boat Show - Day 2: the morning's events

61st Genoa International Boat Show - Day 2 © Confindustria Nautica

The second day of the 61st Genoa International Boat Show opened with the "Boating, Tax and Customs" conference, the usual update on the tax and customs legislation with regards to the industry which this year took on particularly importance following the legislative and regulatory innovations on nautical leasing, off-shore navigation and Brexit.

• The boating, tax and customs conference on the latest changes to the fiscal and customs legal framework
• Barbantini, revenue agency: "new provisions coming to the industry"
• Breitling Theater hosted the Italian Navy Hydrographic Institute's presentation of a new electronic cartography product for leisure boating

The President of the Italian Marine Industry Association, Saverio Cecchi, opened the event, recalling the nautical data released yesterday on the occasion of the inauguration of the 61st edition of the Genoa Boat Show: " To date, turnover has already reached almost + 24%. I am sure that by the end of the year we will go up by a few more percentage points ".

Some highlights of the new edition of the Nautical, Tax and Customs guide created by the Italian Marine Industry Association, screened by the Revenue Agency and the Customs Agency, were also illustrated.

Maurizio Balducci, Vice President of the Italian Marine Industry Association had this to say: " The agencies have listened to us and clarified our doubts. Working together we have found key solutions. But now it is already time to set our next goals. The British flags, predominant in the market, are free and we must intercept them. Today non-EU boats that have to do work in Italy are required to have a bank guarantee of 100% of the value of the VAT calculated on the value of the ship. The French and Spanish have found a way to not have to provide these guarantees. Now it's up to us. A ship that comes to do some work at a shipyard in Italy cannot disappear, a leisure boat cannot be lost. The risk is equivalent to zero".

Valerio Barbantini, Deputy Director of the Revenue Agency - Customs Agency took note of the further requests reported. "I can already let you know - he declared - in this important forum that we want to make publish a communication, in the form of an answer to these questions, which will come out shortly to give a sense of greater certainty to industry operators ".

Andrea Zucchini, Interregional Director for Liguria, Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta Customs Agency confirmed that " our Director General knows the importance of Italian boating and shipbuilding. Tax dumping between member states is creating problems and we act to help the sector. This is why we will give our contribution to ensure Italy does not have to pay higher costs than other countries ".

Marco Viola, Head of the Tax Consultancy Area of the Italian Leasing Association explained how the fiscal regulatory framework and nautical leasing have changed and what the margins are for improvement. "We have gone from a flat-rate regime to a system that is not yet well known by Italian companies and users who have already reacted (this is demonstrated by the -57% decrease in nautical leasing contracts stipulated in 2021) ".

Marco Campomenosi, MEP, concluded by discussing "many of the positions you have illustrated. I fear that the EU will not back down on VAT and that it will remain a slow actor in its reform paths and the regulatory procedures are very cumbersome. The Italian government must create a more open dialogue with the EU Commission and apply more pressure. A dialogue that must include politics as well as state authorities. Italy must make itself heard with the weight it has ".

As always, activity at the Breitling Theatre was intense: the morning opened with the panel "Nautical Electronic Cartography for leisure boats" held by the Hydrographic Institute of the Italian Navy, where the Director, Rear Admiral Massimiliano Nannini, presented the Magnaghi project, the new cartographic line of Official products based on high-density hydrographic surveys carried out with new technologies available to the Navy's Hydrographic Institute, a cartographic product intended for leisure boats, which will support the IIM cartographic production.

At noon the " Harken Tech Talk" took place, an event promoted by Harken, a manufacturer of deck equipment for sailboats. Starting from their extensive experience accumulated over many years of racing (and more), the Commercial Director of Harken Italia Emanuele Cecchini and the Technical Director Michele Cazzaro, moderated by the journalist of Vela & Motor Alberto Mariotti, spoke about the technical evolution of the deck and winches in recent decades, starting with the boats that were the protagonists in the first edition of the crewed world tour in stages, up to the current foil boats, pioneers of a true revolution.

"In recent years we have witnessed a real revolution and Harken, from this same standpoint, has always been in the front row", explained Emanuele Cecchini. "This is why we have decided, in an exceptional and perfectly fitting context like the Genoa International Boat Show, to relive this evolution of the species, which is also very useful for understanding which direction we will go over the next few years".