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Practical Manual for Companies 2022.

Calculation of the taxable base by the objective assessment method

1. Calculation of the taxable base of activities covered by the special regime

Regulation: Article 114.1, 2 and 3 LIS

Entities covered by this special regime will determine the part of the tax base that corresponds to the operation, ownership or technical and crew management of vessels that meet the requirements detailed in the previous section, applying the following scale to the net registered tons of each of said vessels:

Net registered tonsDaily amount per 100 tons
euros
Between 0 and up to 1,000 0.90 euros
Between 1,001 and up to 10,000 0.70 euros
Between 10,001 and up to 25,000 0.40 euros
From 25,001 0.20 euros

Note: For the application of the scale, the days of the tax period in which the vessels are at the taxpayer's disposal or in which the technical and crew management has been carried out will be taken into account, excluding the days in which they are not operational as a result of ordinary or extraordinary repairs.

The part of the tax base that is determined by the application of this scale:

  • It will include the income derived from the pilotage, towing, mooring and unmooring services provided to the vessel assigned to this regime, when the vessel is used by the entity itself, as well as the loading, unloading, stowage and unstowing services related to the vessel's cargo transported on it, provided that they are billed to the transport user and are provided by the entity itself or by a third party not linked to it.

  • It will be considered to include the positive or negative income that is revealed as a result of the transfer of a vessel affected by this regime, provided that it does not involve vessels whose ownership was already held when this special regime was accessed or used vessels acquired once its application began.

  • It may not be offset (except for the income generated from the transfer of vessels whose ownership was already held when this special regime was accessed or from used vessels acquired once the application of the same had begun), with negative tax bases derived from the rest of the activities of the shipping entity, neither from the current nor from previous years, nor with the tax bases pending offset at the time of application of the regime.

The application of this regime must cover all the applicant's vessels that meet the requirements of this regime, and any vessels acquired, leased or managed after authorisation, provided that they meet these requirements.

Also eligible for this regime are vessels chartered , provided that the sum of their net tonnage does not exceed 75 percent of the total fleet of the entity or, where applicable, of the tax group subject to the regime. In the case of entities that pay taxes under the fiscal consolidation regime, the application must refer to all entities in the tax group that meet the requirements of article 113 of the LIS.

Case of transfer of vessels whose ownership was already held when accessing the special regime or of used vessels acquired once its application began.

In these cases, the following procedure should be followed:

  • In the first financial year in which the regime is applied or in which the used vessels have been acquired an unavailable reserve will be provided for an amount equivalent to the positive difference between the normal market value and the net book value of each of the vessels affected by this rule, or said difference will be specified separately for each of the vessels and during all financial years in which ownership of the same is maintained, in the notes to their annual accounts.

    In the case of vessels acquired through an operation to which the special regime for mergers, spin-offs, contributions of assets and exchange of securities has been applied (Chapter VII of Title VII of the LIS), the net book value will be determined based on the acquisition value as it appears in the accounting records of the transferring entity.

  • Failure comply with the obligation not to make available the reserve or the obligation to mention in the report will constitute a serious tax offence, punishable by a fine of 5 percent of the amount of the aforementioned difference.

  • The amount of the aforementioned positive reserve, together with the positive difference existing on the date of the transfer between the tax and accounting depreciation of the alienated vessel, will be added to the tax base determined by the scale detailed above when the aforementioned transfer has taken place.

    The same procedure will apply if the vessel is transferred , directly or indirectly, on the occasion of an operation to which the special regime of mergers, spin-offs, contributions of assets and exchange of securities applies (of Chapter VII of Title VII of the LIS).

2. Calculation of the taxable base for other activities not covered by the special regime

Regulation: Article 114.4 LIS

The determination of the part of the taxable base that corresponds to these activities will be carried out by applying the general regime of the Tax, taking into account exclusively the income from said activities.

That part of the taxable base will be made up of all income that does not come from activities covered by the regime, by the expenses directly related to obtaining them, as well as by the part of the general administration expenses that proportionally correspond to the turnover generated

In the case of dredging activity , this part of the tax base will include the income from that activity not covered by the special regime.