The sale of a 33-meter Ferretti Customs Line in international waters of Antibes, France, for one of our esteemed customers has been closed today. The most curious thing about this transaction is that it was planned to be closed in international waters off Mallorca and without proceeding to the definitive export of the vessel for the prior loss of its ‘Community good’ status. If the operation would have been executed as planned, would have meant a significant risk in terms of VAT for the seller (doctrine of ‘abuse of law’) and another risk, even more important, for the buyer, as he intended to enter the Customs Territory of the Union under the Temporary Admission regime, which is impossible, as to apply such a regime it is necessary that are yachts with ‘non-Community status’.
The above is a sample of how important it is to have a solvent, specialized advice and with solid experience in this type of transactions. Not every lawyer can handle operations of such complexity, in which a small detail can represent millionaire tax contingencies for the property or for third parties. I recommend shipowners to make sure of the experience, solvency and qualification of those who advise them in these operations, such as the purchase and sale of their vessels and aircrafts.
Although in this case I would say that it was a matter of recklessness, inexperience or mere ignorance, in many cases it is also a matter of qualification, and we may find people who are not even lawyers, advising operations of this relevancy with a complex, broad and dense legal content. They often call themselves ’Consultants‘, ’Advisors’ or any other generalist denomination. It is not a question of intrusiveness, because there is no absolute monopoly of legal advice in favor of lawyers, who are only reserved exclusively for the direction and technical defense of clients before the courts, and the procedural postulation. However, in these legal matters par excellence, as a Spanish saying goes, ‘ignorance is daring’ and this can cost both the client (e.g. contingencies) and the ‘advisor’ (e.g. civil liability) very dearly.