New clarifications from the Italian Custom Agency regarding the temporary admission of yachts

With the recent Circular No. 11/2026, the Custom Agency has once again addressed the temporary admission regime, providing very useful clarifications for operators in the sector, with particular reference to the phases of restriction and clearance of the regime, as well as to the user of the yacht, in the two different scenarios of private or commercial use.

It is worth recalling that vessels under the temporary admission regime are used by persons established outside the EU territory; therefore, a pleasure craft registered in a third country, owned by a person resident outside the EU, may be used, under the temporary admission regime, by that person or by persons authorised by them.

In this regard, identifying the authorised person is both useful and necessary in order to determine who assumes the obligations and responsibilities under the regime.

Generally speaking, in cases of private (non-commercial) use of the yacht, the user of the pleasure craft is the owner, notwithstanding the fact that the skipper may have physical control of the pleasure craft at the time the yacht enters the customs territory of the European Union. This situation does not change, however, if the owner is not on board the vessel because – in the example given in the circular – they will join the vessel at a later time and by a different means of transport: in this case too, therefore, authorisation must be granted to the owner of the vessel, as the skipper is acting on behalf of the owner.

In the different scenario of the commercial use of a leased pleasure craft, authorisation is granted to the captain, as he has physical control of the vessel at the time it enters the customs territory of the Union and does not act on behalf of the shipowner: in this case, therefore, the user of the vessel is the skipper.

Still with regard to the scenario of commercial use, it was subsequently clarified that, if no commercial contract for consideration is in place at the time of entry into EU waters, the yacht may enter under the temporary admission procedure for private use, as mentioned above. If, before the expiry of the period for clearance of the procedure, the yacht enters into a contract for commercial purposes, it must leave the customs territory; subsequently, once the commercial contract is in place, the yacht may re-enter the EU customs territory under the temporary admission procedure for commercial use (and may remain in EU territorial waters for the period specified in the contract).

In relation to the above, it is also worth mentioning a very important point in the circular regarding the fact that the person responsible for the procedure bears the burden of proving entry into the EU territory or, if the vessel subsequently re-entered, that it has left that EU waters. On this point, it is first clarified that, in such a case, the 18-month time limit for the clearance of the procedure will restart. Furthermore, with regard to the means of proof, it is clarified that exit may also be demonstrated by means of satellite detection systems recording the vessel’s arrival in international waters or alternatively by means of documentation certifying arrival at a third-country port or showing bunkering operations carried out abroad, or, again, by means of entries in the logbook. The importance of this clarification is of primary significance given that it overturns the previous approach according to which, for the purposes of verification, it was necessary to demonstrate entry into a non-EU port and that mere exit from EU waters was not sufficient.

Finally, it is worth mentioning one last point, which concerns the customs procedure to which the yacht is subject. In particular, the circular notes that in the yachting sector it is common for a privately owned vessel to be placed under the temporary admission procedure by its owner, whilst the inward processing procedure is requested by the shipyard in the event of repairs or other work that cannot be carried out under the temporary admission procedure. Once the work has been completed, the inward processing regime is terminated and the subsequent temporary admission phase – the time limits for which continue to run – reverts to the owner of the vessel. In the case in question, since both the holders of the two procedures relating to the same asset and the purposes for which the asset is subject to them differ, for the purposes of calculating the maximum period of stay under temporary admission, only the periods during which the vessel is subject to that procedure by the same person, the owner of the vessel, shall be taken into account.

• Circular No. 11 of 2026 is of significant importance because it clarifies the position of the Italian Customs regarding certain issues on which differences had arisen between European Union member states or between the various regional offices of the Italian tax authorities.

• With regard to the conditions for clearance, the circular in question recognises the relevance of leaving EU waters – without necessarily having to dock at a non-EU port – thereby aligning the Italian regime with that of other European countries.