Among the yacht owners, there are tax debtors, but also people condemned for criminal associations.
According to the list of registered yachts, provided by the Maritime Safety Authority on the basis of free access to information, the owners of yachts sailing under the Montenegrin flag are also citizens of Russia (67), Serbia (62), then Albania, Italy, USA, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Britain. Firms registered on the British Virgin Islands have 35 yachts in Montenegro.
By law, a yacht is defined as a sailing vessel, which can have more than one hull, designed and equipped for longer stays on the sea, for recreation and sport, of a length exceeding seven meters and used for personal needs or business activity.
PHOTO: Porto Montenegro
From Montenegrin citizens, yachts owners are Branko Vujošević, Sabri Zejnelag, Aleksandar Bošković, Emir Rašketić, Ratko Vujačić, Željko Perović, Snežan Kovinić, Marijan Milošević, Petar Brakočević, Pairaktaridis Emmanouil, Dejan Ban, Momir Vojinović, Miljan Darmanović, Vladimir Kordić, Nikola i Petar Vukotic (two yachts), Ismet Cung and Suad Memić.
From the Montenegrin companies, yachts owners are BMV shipping services Bar, whose founder is Dragutin Vukić, and UTIP Montenegro's Žarko Burić. UTIP found itself on the black list of Tax Administration with a debt of 152.520 euro for taxes and 217.772 euro for taxes and contributions on earnings. The debt was reprogrammed.
Among the tax debtors who own a yacht is also the company Klikovac Podgorica (founder Aleksandar Klikovac) who is on the blacklist of the PU with a reprogrammed debt for taxes and contributions of 237.094 euros. The yacht (Helena) is owned by Gugi Commerce company of Branislav Savić, who was sentenced to 11 months in prison on the basis of a plea agreement with the Special State Prosecution. He admitted that he was part of the criminal group of Svetozar Marovic who committed several malversations in Budva.
The owner of yacht “Helena” confessed that he was part of the criminal group: Savić PHOTO: Vuk Lajović
CRPS writes that the company Gugi Commerce entered the criminal records by a final judgment of the Superior Court on August 28, 2017. By a decision of the Superior Court, a conditional sentence was issued to the company and an obligation to pay 2.5 million euro on the property-legal claim to the municipality Budva, in part by transferring the property rights on the property from the convicted one to the damaged one and partially by paying 300.535 euro. The municipality is awaiting two plea agreements in the total amount of six million euro. After finishing the first agreement, the firm paid a fine of 300,000 euro, but the Municipality did not yet register as the owner of three business premises in the TQ Plaza complex, as well as the 1,683 square-meter complex on Bečići beach, to which they were also bound by the first agreement. Another agreement needs to be completed, which caused the firm to pledge property in Tivat.
Among the owners of the yachts are also the companies from Budva Porto Budva Company (Nemanja Zec) and Slavija (Predrag Ćupić), then Si-ing Podgorica (Ivan Suhih), Kairos MNE Herceg Novi (Robert Perović) and Ljetopis Automotive Podgorica (Borislav Mijović). Yachts that are registered belong also to the following companies: Samtron Yachting Tivat (Milorad Vuletić), Sunshine charting Tivat (Viktor Grablowitz), Ekonomik Assets Management (Ivana Đurašević Landsmeer, Jacob Henderik Paulus Landsmeer), Dojković Co Namos Podgorica (Vladan Dajković), Uniprom hotels Veselin Pejović , Eurotechnika MN Podgorica (Željko Vojinović), Marine Services Herceg Novi (Nenad Lazović, Božo Zgradić), La Pluma Bar (Filip Bajković), Fila MN Bar (Fila Nord group Novi Sad). Last October, the Ministry of Transport said that there are no mega yachts in the Montenegrin register since the largest one registered does not exceed 24 meters, i.e. the length of the yacht Lady Sovereign II, marked MNE 0356. The owner of these yachts is the offshore company registered in Delaware, MTL Yacht Club of Delaware.
According to the data from the site of the Maritime Safety Directorate, the costs for yacht registration into the Register and the renewal of the Certificate are 30 euro per meter for a motor yacht and multiple yachts and 20 euro per meter for a sailing yacht. To cancel a yacht from the register, a fee of 20 euro needs to be paid. For a basic and regular review, a seven-euro fee is paid on the yacht meter per length. For an extraordinary yacht checkup, a fee of 20 percent of the yacht registration fee and the administrative fee is paid. The yacht owner pays the tax on the use of passenger motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft and aircraft, compulsory liability insurance and approval for a radio station on board. The yacht register issues a Certificate of Yacht Registration valid for three years.
"Vijesti" asked the Ministry of Finance how much are the revenues obtained from the fees for the use of yachts registered in Montenegro last year and the first quarter of this year, but they responded that this fee is the revenue that the Port Authority charges. The yacht can be rented in Montenegro, under a domestic but also a foreign flag. The legal requirement for someone to charter a yacht under a foreign flag is to pay a one-time annual compensation of several thousand euros in addition to a vignette.
Pejović has a yacht called "Mediterraneo" PHOTO: Luka Zeković
Specialized portals and tourist magazines often refer to Montenegro as a yachting destination. Apart from its natural beauty, Montenegro is an attractive destination because it offers a considerably more liberal and cheaper regime for foreign yachts in Montenegrin waters, their possible import and registration to be under the Montenegrin flag, lower tax rates and much more, such as fuel for yachts freed from customs duties tax.
Yacht maintenance is also expensive
Yacht owners, except for the taxes to the state, have many other costs such as fuel, general maintenance and salaries. The Towergate insurance company estimated that the annual fee for the docks is $350,000, insurance in average is $240,000, and maintenance and repairs can cost millions, as well as crew salaries. In total, the yacht owner should expect his annual maintenance to be around ten percent of the initial cruising costs.
The most expensive yachts in the world
The most expensive yachts in the world, according to data released by CNN in early June, are the "Eclipse" owned by Roman Abramovich ($485 million), followed by "A" Russian yacht by Andrej Melnicenko ($450 million), "Octopus" by Microsoft co-founder Pol Alena ($200 million) followed by "Dubai" of the sheik Mohammad bin Raish al-Maktum, "Lady Moura" by the businessmen from Saudi Arabia Naser Al Rašid, Qatar's former Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim al Thani's "Al Mirqab" and thr “Dilbar” of the chief share holder of the football club "Arsenal", Ališer Usmanov.
Text by Biljana Matijasevic, on June 17th, 2018, read more at Vijesti
