Irrespective of the nationality of the owner, any yacht which spends more than six months in any calendar year cruising in EU vat zone waters is liable to pay VAT in the place of effective importation. However, non-EU nationals may avail themselves of the temporary importation procedure through Malta, whereby any yacht which is imported to the EU waters but with the intention of re-exporting it, may be temporarily brought into the EU waters and be exempt from paying VAT and customs duties, as long as the yacht is used only for private purposes.

 This procedure requires that the yacht calls at Malta, after which it is allowed for the yacht to cruise freely within the EU territorial waters for a maximum period of eighteen months without any further customs formalities and no further VAT obligations during this period. Additionally, in the event that the yacht spends any time laid up, there is also the possibility to ignore such laid-up period for the purpose of computing the 18-month period.