FEPORT and CLECAT invite the EU commission to make sure that the regimes of the tonnage tax benefit the companies of navigation to the detriment of terminalisti and shippers



The federation of the European private harbour terminalisti denunciation newly for the effects distorted to you on the marine-harbour logistic chain producing by the current formulations of the regimes of "tonnage tax", the regimes of taxation for the marine enterprises that preview the forfetaria determination of the taxable income based on the tonnage of the ships. An iterated protest to which the European association of the enterprises of shipment, customs transport has been associated, logistics and services.

In a statement combined, today the FEPORT (Federation of European Private Port Operators) and the CLECAT (European Association for Forwarding, Transport, Logistics and Customs Services) have asked the EU commission, on behalf of thousands of enterprises of shipment, European harbour and terminalisti operators, "to avoid distortions of the market in the EU and to separate the activities that can benefit of a favorable fiscal treatment in the within of the taxation regimes on the tonnage. Referring to the authorization granted in recent days from the EU commission to the delay until the 2023 of the measures in support of marine transport in the within of the Italian International Registry(of the 11 june 2020), the two organizations have specified that their protest follows the green light granted from the Commission to the Italian aids of State national to the marine industry and has evidenced that "special the fiscal regime will not be only applied to the characteristic revenues of a navigation company, as those deriving from the transport of goods and passengers, but also to the revenues of accessory managements that closely are connected to the activities of marine transport".

Remembering that recently they have sent letters to Margrethe Vestager, European commissioner for competition, speeding up a clarification of the norms on the aids of State with the scope to avoid the risk of distortion of the competition, FEPORT and CLECAT has emphasized that to they warning "the Commission would have to make sure that the services accessories, than - they have specified - are offered also by others leave of the marine logistic chain, are excluded by the within of admissibility of the tonnage tax and that therefore the decisions that include those dispositions are modified".

Finding that the EU commission, approving of last week the Italian fiscal measures for the marine transport, has guaranteed to make sure in particular that "the classified fiscal treatment favorable to the companies of marine transport does not have repercussions on other fields not connected to the marine transport", FEPORT and CLECAT have specified to nourish instead "serious doubts on the methodology of the Commission in estimating the risks of repercussions on their fields" and have invited the Commission "to follow the recommendations proposed in the relationship on the subsidies to the marine transport of the International Transport Forum of the OCSE (that it is published last September,on September 17, 2019, ndr) in order to modify the guidelines on the aids of State to the marine transport of the EU and to separate the permissible activities to the favorable fiscal treatment from the regimes of tonnage tax".

"The advantage granted to the navigation companies allowing they to benefit of a more favorable fiscal treatment for their activities of cargo handling - the general secretary of the FEPORT, Lamia Kerdjoudj-Belkaid has explained - distorts to the competition between the integrated terminals and those independent ones. We consider that it is up to the Commission to make clarity on the norms in order to avoid risks of distortion of the competition and to guarantee parity conditions. This - it has emphasized - is particularly important when the exceptions to the general norms on the aids of State benefit a field, as in the case of the marine transport".

"Today - it has evidenced Nicolette van der Jagt, general manager of the CLECAT - there are obvious cases in which the vertically integrated carriers more they can benefit of fiscal regimes that incentives to the terrestrial transport realized from the marine carrier supply (the cured transport door-to-door from the carrier) rather than to the cured terrestrial transport from the loader (where the transport door-to-door is realized by the loader or the shipper), what that for us - Jagt has restated van der - is not acceptable".

To such purpose FEPORT and CLECAT they have remembered moreover to have already evidenced, in occasion of the review of Regolamento of exemption of category in favor of the consortia between containerized companies of navigation(on 10 February 2020), the fact that a sector instrument can have an impact that goes very to beyond the field that benefits some. "Today - they have concluded the two organizations - we manifest newly our worry for the distortion of the competition to the detriment of our associates determined assuring competitive advantages to the navigation companies through norms on the generous aids of State".