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Cyprus tonnage tax - list of countries whose ships are subject to surcharge

In order to promote its objective of improving the quality of Cyprus shipping, the Merchant Shipping (Fees and Taxing Provisions) Law of 2010, Law 44(I)/2010 ("the Tonnage Tax Law") imposes a surcharge on the tonnage tax payable in respect of qualifying vessels registered in countries which appear in the Grey List or the Black List of the Paris MOU. Sections 17(2), 27(2) and 40(2) of the Tonnage Tax Law respectively provide for a surcharge, payable by owners, charterers or managers, of 30 per cent for ships registered in countries appearing in the Grey List and 60 per cent for ships registered in countries appearing in the Black List.

On the basis of the annual report of the Paris MOU for the year 2014, the Department of Merchant Shipping has determined that the flags 

included in the relevant Grey or Black List for the purposes of calculating tonnage tax for 2015.

Grey List

(30 per cent surcharge)

Black List

(60 per cent surcharge)

Albania

Poland

Azerbaijan

Algeria

Portugal

Belize

Bulgaria

Slovakia

Bolivia

Curacao

Spain

Cambodia

Egypt

St Kitts and Nevis

Comoros

Georgia

Syrian Arab Republic

Dominica

Jamaica

Thailand

Honduras

Lebanon

Tunisia

Moldova

Libya

Tuvalu

Montenegro

Lithuania

Ukraine

Sierra Leone

Malaysia

Vanuatu

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Mongolia

Vietnam

Tanzania

Morocco

 

Togo

Section 34(4) of the Tonnage Tax Law provides that ships under management flying a flag which appears in the Black List of the Paris MOU will be deemed to comply with international and Community standards and consequently qualify for the tonnage tax system only if the technical and crew management of every such ship is entirely performed from the territory of an EU Member State. In the event of breach of this requirement section 54 of the Law empowers the Department of Merchant Shipping to impose sanctions including administrative fines and exclusion from the tonnage tax system.