Scattered Nautical Hotel. The Italian Revenue Agency Clarifies The VAT Treatment

A new form of maritime accommodation is represented by the so-called scattered nautical hotel, i.e. those facilities composed of a central production unit offering common services and recreational units equipped for accommodation and overnight stays on board, serving the same central production unit. With the necessary reference to the regional laws governing their operation, in the central production unit the services of reception, registration and telematic communication of on-board presence and customer contact and 24-hour assistance are offered, while the yachts are suitable for overnight accommodation, furnished, equipped with a kitchen, on-board toilet facilities with hot water including a shower. Services offered to customers include cleaning of the yachts and a change of linen at every change of guests, in addition to the usual ancillary services provided by an accommodation facility. Moreover, yachts may be granted for use to customers by means of rental contracts, which can, however, only take place within the ruled limitations.

In its recent Ruling No. 466, the Revenue Agency clarified which VAT rate is applicable by the scattered nautical hotels to the various services they render to their customers. The examination, in particular, begins with a preliminary analysis of whether or not scattered nautical hotels constitute the types of accommodation facilities that may benefit from the reduced VAT rate of 10% instead of the ordinary rate of 22%.

More specifically, the Ruling first of all clarifies that, where scattered nautical hotels comply with the relevant regional provisions and are considered by the latter to be facilities intended for tourist accommodation, they are among the entities entitled to apply the reduced VAT rate of 10%, since they may be included among the entities referred to in the Italian VAT code (i.e., No. 120 of Table A Part III, annexed to Presidential Decree No. 633 of 26.10.1972).

Referring then to the clarifications previously provided, the Revenue Agency also recalls that services that make it possible for the customer to stay in the accommodation facility and satisfy his needs and requirements can benefit from the reduced VAT. Therefore, the 10% VAT rate can be applied both to the services of accommodation of the clients in the yachts part of the scattered nautical hotel and to the operations strictly ''accessory'' to it, such as cleaning, mooring assistance, reservations, surveillance and security, and the charging of consumption.

Conversely, services rendered at the request of the customer would be excluded from the facilitated regime here under comment. These in fact represent 'faculties' and cannot therefore be counted among the services required for the provision of a scattered nautical hotel. These services are therefore subject to the ordinary 22% VAT rate. The ancillary services mentioned in the Revenue Agency's ruling include those of hauling and launching of the yachts, offered as part of the stationing in the port, or services consisting in the use of “the same yacht for short pleasure boating trips ... for short excursions in the vicinity, without the assistance of a crew provided by the owner/manager of the structure”.

Finally, the revenue Agency clarifies that the hypothesis of a structure intended for tourist accommodation cannot be recognized in the case in which the manager of the resort, through the assumption of an obligation of a complex nature - which provides for the payment of a global and unitary consideration - performs a single service, inclusive of different and additional services with tourist-recreational purposes, with respect to which the stay and accommodation are merely instrumental. In such cases, it is therefore not possible to apply the reduced VAT rate of 10%, while the ordinary rate of 22% must be applied to the whole global and unitary consideration.