Maritime activity in Seychelles is booming, however it is always necessary to differentiate between two types of business;

• On shore or activity carried out on the territory with a local company or in the Free Zone.
• Offshore or activity carried out outside the Seychelles.
• Onshore: Many sectors of activity are reserved exclusively for Seychellois (taxi, diving club, etc.).

Other activities require the presence in the capital of one or more Seychellois partners.

We cannot in these pages make an exhaustive list of possible activities or not, so we invite you to contact us by email.

After checking with the administrative services, we will send you a free response by email within 48 hours.

The offshore business will be used for the acquisition of a vessel navigating in territorial waters or for the operation of a vessel in other seas. Each case is specific: tax and marital status, nationality of the owner, type of boat, place of operation, etc.

We cannot explain all the situations, so send us your questions by email, we will do our best to answer you as quickly and simply as possible.

To safeguard the image of Seychelles and to avoid “the wrecks” the limiting age of the boat to be recorded is fixed at 15 years, with however possibilities of exemption for well-maintained ships.

Conditions:
If the boat is not in territorial waters of Seychelles, it is possible to record it temporarily in a diplomatic representation Seychelles abroad.

The provisional recording is valid for 90 days renewable.

• For a new boat of series,
  the permanent recording can be done directly through an application which we submit at the Port authorities of Victoria.
• For a boat of not standard occasion (limited series),
  the ship must be appraised by a company of classification recognized by the Seychelles authorities.

For the owners who wish it, a representative of our company can travel with a person in charge for the MSA (Maritime Safety Administration) in order to check the state of the yacht. If the ship corresponds to the standards, all the authorizations necessary for the recording of the aforesaid boat will be delivered at the time of this inspection, and the boat could be recorded directly.

Depending on the type of boat the following certificates can be provided.

• Boat class certificate;
• Cargo safety equipment certificate;
• Cargo construction certificate;
• International Pollution Prevention Certificate;
• Clean handling certificate;
• Loading certificate;
• Radio certificate;
• Declaration of transfer of the boat;
• Certificate of Sale of the boat;
• Sanitary certificate for fishing;
• Cargo equipment certificate;
• Certificate of cancellation;
• Certificate of incorporation of the company;

The costs are as follows:

• Constitution and registration of your offshore company with a capital of 5,000 USD including government taxes, head office, postal address, sending of documents by special carrier,
  from 1.900 Euros
• Constitution and registration of your pleasure boat, your yacht less than 15 years old including government taxes, sending of documents by special courier,
  from 3.800 Euros
• Different options like director for the offshore structure, telephone and fax service…. Are invoiced in addition on estimate

International navigation regulations are very strict and each country has its own laws.

It is obvious that when it comes to navigation safety and marine pollution, every navigator worthy of the name must take responsibility.

We are only concerned with the tax advantages that certain arrangements can bring you.

Remember that these structures are completely legal and meet international provisions.

The Seychelles Islands are members of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), as well as the International Maritime Organization (IMO). As such, pleasure boats, yachts or merchant ships flying the Seychellois flag receive friendly treatment worldwide, but also through their undisputed adherence to respect for marine and terrestrial fauna and flora.

The advantages of pleasure boats, yachts or commercial vessels registered under the Seychelles flag are exempt:

1. from VAT or VAT
2. from profit tax
3. from capital gain
4. ONLY an annual tax of 300 USD is due for the pleasure yacht regardless of its tonnage.

To the advantages described above (absence of VAT, absence of added value, prohibitive taxes, we must add, the increased ease of transferring the ownership of the pleasure boat, the yacht or the commercial vessel by transfer of shares, and the peace of the owners, in particular in matters of seizure. The pleasure boat, yacht being outside the patrimony, on these gains, it is advisable to add the absence of inheritance taxes and taxes on the great fortune.