The Malta Maritime Law Association held its seminar “Key Insights on VAT & Yachting Transactions” on Tuesday, 28th October 2025, at Hyatt Centric, St. Julian’s.
The event brought together around 80 participants, including MMLA members, tax advisers, lawyers, and professionals involved in the yachting sector.
The morning opened with welcome remarks by MMLA Executive committee member and the Yachting & Tax Sub-Committee chairman Anthony Galea (AG Advisory Ltd).
Followed by the first panel discussion, “Yachting: Sale & Purchase Transactions,” moderated by Christine Cassar Naudi (Ganado Advocates). The panel featured Chris Borg (Deloitte) , Mark Lautier (PWC) , Christabel Gatt (Zampa Partners), and Louise Grima (KPMG). The panel discussed current VAT challenges and considerations in yacht sale and purchase transactions.
An interview followed with NSO representatives Mr. Joseph Galea (Head of Unit) and Mr. Kevin Borg (Principal Statistician), led by William Cassar (Fenlex). The discussion focused on trade statistics and their relevance to VAT reporting and industry analysis.
After a short coffee break, the programme continued with an interview with Nico Sciberras, moderated by William Cassar and Matthew Zampa (Zampa Partners). Topics included the EU VAT refund directive, OSS regime complexities, the 12% reduced VAT rate on charters, and the potential impact of VIDA on the yachting sector. The application of the commercial exemption in Malta was also discussed.
The seminar concluded with closing remarks from Anthony Galea, who thanked the speakers, attendees, and the Yachting & Yachting Tax Sub-Committee for their work in organising the event.
