Melchinenko saved 76 million Euros taxes by stopping at Kristiansand

The owner of the "A", Andrej Melnichenko, saved around 76 million Euros taxes by stopping in Kristiansand in order to obtain an export certificate. Such a tax exemption may be granted for an object produced in Germany according to the wishes of the client if the object reaches a third country (non-EU foreign country) after completion. In addition, the buyer was a foreigner. In these cases, the shipyard would charge the purchase price without VAT, but this would entail the risk that the buyer would not provide the necessary documents for the tax exemption. That is why the shipyard apparently used the option provided for such cases and requested the VAT initially from the buyer, and then reimbursed it later on presentation of the export documents. The Russian does not apply this trick for the first time. Also when he picked up his previous yacht "A", an intermediate stop was inserted in the non-EU country Norway, in order to be subsequently refunded the VAT. Norway could have been chosen because it is so close to the north of Germany and it was easier to get the required papers from the German authorities. As a rule, export goods are not taxed in Germany, but in the country of use. It was unclear whether the yacht owner was now paying to the Finance Minister of the Bahamas - the new home port of the "A" which was next destined to Iskele after a stopover at the Isle of Wight, ETA Feb 10.