Updates

Temporary Admission for Pleasure Craft ADM Guidance — Circular No. 11/2026

Posted on by Domenico Rinaldi
21
May

With the recent publication of Circular No. 11/2026, the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM) has issued important guidance on the application of the Temporary Admission (T.A.) customs procedure to pleasure craft, covering both private and commercial use. This administrative measure provides greater clarity on the stages of entry into the procedure, discharge of the procedure, and the key criteria for identifying the correct holder of the authorisation.

1.  Pleasure Craft for Private Use

Entry into the procedure, calculation of time limits, and proof of discharge

1.1  Entry into the Temporary Admission Procedure

Vessels registered in a third country benefit from a customs simplification whereby the mere crossing of the EU 12-nautical-mile territorial waters limit is sufficient to place the craft under the Temporary Admission procedure. However, in order to establish with certainty the date of entry for the purpose of calculating time limits, the declarant may opt to lodge a verbal declaration (of entry into the procedure using Annex 71-01 of the Delegated Regulation (Form 71-01 DR) at the competent customs office or at the Port Authority (Capitaneria di Porto). In the absence of such a formal act, the burden of proving entry into or exit from the Union’s customs territory falls on the holder of the procedure, who must do so by any available documentary means in the event of a customs check.

1.2  Calculation of the Authorised Period of Stay (18 Months) and the Aggregation of T.A. and Inward Processing (I.P.) Periods

The maximum period of stay within the Union’s customs territory for a pleasure craft in private use is set at 18 months. One of the most complex issues addressed by the Circular concerns the calculation of this time limit where the vessel is temporarily placed under the Inward Processing (I.P.) procedure in order to carry out works or repairs that are not permitted under T.A. — and is then returned to T.A. once the works are completed.

The Customs Circular, acting on guidance from the European Commission, has clarified that the general rule provides for the aggregation of periods: time spent under T.A. and time spent under I.P. are cumulated for the purpose of reaching the 18-month maximum. However, this aggregation applies if and only if the goods are placed under both procedures by the same person and for the same purpose (private use).

In maritime practice, however, a distinct situation arises with considerable frequency: the vessel is held under T.A. in the name of the owner/shipowner, while the I.P. procedure for the repair works is requested and opened directly by the shipyard. In this specific and widespread scenario:

  • The holders of the two procedures differ (the shipowner holds the T.A.; the shipyard holds the I.P.);
  • The purposes differ (private recreational use under T.A.; shipyard processing operations under I.P.).

Since the requisite conditions are not met, the aggregation principle does not apply. Consequently, for the purpose of calculating the 18-month maximum period of stay, only the periods during which the vessel is held under T.A. by its owner shall be taken into account, effectively “freezing” the running of the time limit for the duration of the period in which the craft is in the custody of the shipyard under the I.P. procedure.

⚓  OPERATIONAL UPDATE

Where a vessel under T.A. requires repairs and is placed under I.P. by the shipyard (which acts with a different purpose and distinct legal identity), the periods during which the vessel is held under I.P. do not count towards the 18-month maximum period of stay attributable to the vessel’s holder.

1.3  Proof of Discharge of the Procedure

The T.A. procedure is deemed discharged upon the vessel’s exit from EU territorial waters. Evidence of such exit may be provided by means of the following:

  • Data from the AIS (Automatic Identification System) satellite tracking system confirming arrival in international waters;
  • Documentation evidencing arrival at a port in a third country;
  • Bunker receipts for fuelling operations carried out outside the EU;
  • Duly completed and signed logbook entries.

The Circular therefore establishes a very important principle, namely that in order to prove that a vessel has left European waters (and thus that the 18-month period has been interrupted), it is not necessary to have reached a port in a third country; proof that the vessel has reached international waters is sufficient. The Court of Appeal for Tax Matters of Liguria had also reached a similar conclusion in Judgment No. 200/2026 of 23 March 2026.

2.  Identification of the User

Legal rationale and practical scenarios under ADM Circular No. 11/2026

A critical step for the granting of the T.A. procedure is the precise identification of the “user” (and, consequently, of the holder of the authorisation). EU customs legislation lays down mandatory subjective requirements: Article 212(3) of the Delegated Regulation provides that a vessel under T.A. must be registered or owned outside the Union and, as an essential condition, must be used by a person established outside the customs territory of the Union. If the user is not correctly identified, the Customs Authority cannot verify this territorial requirement and cannot lawfully authorise the procedure.

To clarify the rules of attribution, the ADM refers to the concept of “physical control” and the principle of “acting on behalf of another person” set out in Article 212(2) of the Delegated Regulation. The general rule is that the authorisation is granted to the person who has material control of the craft at the time of entry; however, if that person is acting on behalf of another, the authorisation (and the status of user) vests in the latter.

2.1  The Three Practical Scenarios

Scenario A — Private Use with the Owner On Board

Where a non-EU shipowner employs a skipper and is on board when the yacht enters EU waters for leisure purposes, the skipper has physical control of the vessel but is manifestly acting on behalf of the owner. Since the voyage is carried out without remuneration (private in nature), the legal user and holder of the authorisation is solely the owner.

Scenario B — Private Use: Delivery/Repositioning Voyage

The shipowner instructs the skipper to sail the vessel from a third country to the EU in order to prepare it for the summer season, intending to join the yacht subsequently by air. Even though the owner is physically absent at the time of the vessel’s entry into EU waters, the purpose of the voyage is private (unremunerated) and the skipper acts in the name and on behalf of the owner. The user and holder of the authorisation remains the owner.

Scenario C — Commercial Use (Charter/Hire)

Where the shipowner charters the yacht with crew and the vessel enters the EU to carry passengers for reward, the position is reversed. The skipper (master) has physical control of the craft but, in this commercial capacity, is not acting on behalf of the original owner. The user of the vessel and holder of the customs authorisation becomes the skipper (master).

3.  Commercial Yachts: Rules Governing Commercial Use

Periods of stay, entry rules, and maintenance under the T.A. procedure

The carriage of persons or goods for reward qualifies the use of the vessel as commercial.

⚠  IMPORTANT

Where a yacht is used for commercial purposes under a charter agreement (carriage for reward) within the EU, it cannot under any circumstances benefit from the Temporary Admission procedure for private use nor from the associated discharge time limits (the standard 18-month period).

The permitted periods of stay differ fundamentally in this case: a vessel in commercial use may remain within the Union’s customs territory solely for the time required to carry out the transport operations specified in the commercial contract, provided that the users (crew and passengers) are established in a third country.

3.1  Entry Rules and Change of Use

  • Where a commercial yacht enters EU waters without an active charter contract, it is placed under Temporary Admission for private use, subject to the rules of that procedure.
  • Where a charter contract is subsequently concluded, the vessel must first exit the Union’s customs territory (thereby discharging the private-use T.A. procedure). The yacht may then re-enter under T.A. for commercial use, presenting Form 71-01 DR together with the charter contract at the customs point of entry, and maintaining meticulous logbook records to document all activities carried out within the Union’s customs territory.

3.2  Maintenance and Customs Guarantees

As with privately used vessels, commercial yachts under T.A. may undergo ordinary maintenance and repair works (whether at anchor or in a shipyard), provided that such works do not alter the vessel’s structure, do not entail improvements to its performance, and do not result in a material increase in its value.

As a procedural matter, ordinary maintenance under Temporary Admission does not require the lodging of any customs guarantee. Where the works exceed this threshold and require the opening of an Inward Processing procedure (so-called refitting operations), an obligation to provide an appropriate customs guarantee will arise, save in cases where an exemption applies.