The Tonnage Tax (Prescribed and Specified Matters) Regulations, SI 2019/398, prescribe the period from 2 October 2015 to 1 October 2018 as the three-year period over which HM Treasury must assess whether it can designate financial year 2019 as an ‘excepted year’ for tonnage tax purposes. Financial year 2019 is to be designated an excepted year.
If the percentage of ships registered with EU or EEA member states has not decreased as a proportion of the worldwide tonnage tax fleet over the three-year period, the subsequent financial year may be ‘excepted’, meaning shipping companies starting to operate vessels registered outside the EU and EEA do not have to carry out a ‘flagging test’ to determine whether they qualify for tonnage tax.
The Tonnage Tax (Prescribed and Specified Matters) Regulations, SI 2019/398, prescribe the period from 2 October 2015 to 1 October 2018 as the three-year period over which HM Treasury must assess whether it can designate financial year 2019 as an ‘excepted year’ for tonnage tax purposes. Financial year 2019 is to be designated an excepted year.
If the percentage of ships registered with EU or EEA member states has not decreased as a proportion of the worldwide tonnage tax fleet over the three-year period, the subsequent financial year may be ‘excepted’, meaning shipping companies starting to operate vessels registered outside the EU and EEA do not have to carry out a ‘flagging test’ to determine whether they qualify for tonnage tax.
