Greek law update

[Glyka]

A new law is being discussed these days in the parliament. Not finalized/voted yet but main points of interest include:

No change (yet) re cruising tax.
No PP visits upon entering or leaving a port.
No PP permits (and .88€) for haul-in/out.
DEKPA stamp once a year (where tax payment is checked).
No fishing permit needed (although rules regarding quantity and tools used still apply).
Private yachts can be chartered.

In general it tries to minimize red tape to a minimum.

I have heard that there are some minor changes proposed by the governing coalition's minority party but they are not published on the official parliament site.

I hope that someone with a better use of English than me will translate it when it is finalized/voted.

 

[Tony Cross]

That's interesting Glyka, thank you. Do you know when they are likely to vote on it?

 

[Cardo]

That all sounds very reasonable. Paying the €300 charge (for us) doesn't seem so bad if you then don't have to deal with pot luck PP visits in harbours.

 

[Glyka]

That's interesting Glyka, thank you. Do you know when they are likely to vote on it?

Not really. It was presented to the parliament on March 12 and right now it is discussed in a meeting of the relevant committee.

For those who can read Greek this is the home page: http://www.parliament.gr/Nomothetik...a?law_id=d95c8920-f4a4-46df-8b05-8024e32ccd6a
Unfortunately the actual text is a scanned PDF so I guess that auto-translators do not work.

 

[Glyka]

That all sounds very reasonable. Paying the €300 charge (for us) doesn't seem so bad if you then don't have to deal with pot luck PP visits in harbours.

My mistake. By "no visits to the PP" I meant no check-in check-out. Harbor fees (when applicable) still have to be payed.

 

[Zen Zero]

Very interesting news, thanks Glyka!

"No fishing permit needed" - is this a change? I understood you needed a permit to fish in Greece and then only from the coast or a Greek-registered boat ...? Did I understand this wrong?

 

[Cardo]

My mistake. By "no visits to the PP" I meant no check-in check-out. Harbor fees (when applicable) still have to be payed.

Boo!

Very interesting news, thanks Glyka!

"No fishing permit needed" - is this a change? I understood you needed a permit to fish in Greece and then only from the coast or a Greek-registered boat ...? Did I understand this wrong?

You could get a fishing permit for any boat, not just Greek registered.

 

[Zen Zero]

You could get a fishing permit for any boat, not just Greek registered.

I have never tried, but my Italian friends, some of them at least, have registered their tenders as Greek vessels, supposedly to allow them to spear-fish from a boat, rather than from the shore.

Have you got a fishing permit for your non-Greek boat? How hard was it to get?

From what Glyka says, it seems we don't need fishing permits any more .. ?

 

[vyv_cox]

My mistake. By "no visits to the PP" I meant no check-in check-out. Harbor fees (when applicable) still have to be payed.

So not quite as good as it first seems. The rigmarole of calculating the fee, writing receipts, photocopies of every document, then writing all the information in another book, will presumably continue.

 

[Alexvlad]

That's good news - I planned fishing with a bulgarian boat this summer, hope they will vote on it.

 

[Cardo]

I have never tried, but my Italian friends, some of them at least, have registered their tenders as Greek vessels, supposedly to allow them to spear-fish from a boat, rather than from the shore.

Have you got a fishing permit for your non-Greek boat? How hard was it to get?

Ah... No, I don't have a permit.
But I was planning to get one for this season, and asked the locals who stated it's just a case of popping along to the correct office in town. They know I have a British flagged vessel. I also know others who have licences for their British flagged boats. So sorry, not quite 100% first hand experience!

From what Glyka says, it seems we don't need fishing permits any more .. ?

If the law is only now being debated, when will it actually come into law? If it ever does, and in what form?

 

[Ravi]

Glyka, thanks very much for the useful info.

A new law is being discussed .....
Private yachts can be chartered.

Now there is a can of worms!

 

[Borden]

Cutting red tape means less work for those employed by the government. Heard on the news yesterday that Greece is going to make big cuts in the number of government employees. Sort of adds up doesn't it.

 

[Cardo]

Cutting red tape means less work for those employed by the government. Heard on the news yesterday that Greece is going to make big cuts in the number of government employees. Sort of adds up doesn't it.

Makes sense. The civil service here is waaaay overstaffed. And I thought the UK was bad!

 

[Chris_Robb]

I had an update email from our contact at the Greek Shipping Ministry.

The gist of it was that, having put all the proposed changes and procedures in front of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) a month ago, the MoF had not come back on anything yet, due to the pressure on them by the Troica. The MoF's only comment was they were working on an electronic means of payment........

Reading between the lines, I think that the concessions that we were hoping to get - especially the one cutting out PP collecting port dues - probably will not happen. But thats only my opinion.

However the good news is that until the MoF gets back and concludes its discussions, the MoS cannot even start preparing its instruction on collection, let alone implementation. I would place a personal bet that it does not start till 31 Dec 2014

 

[Ravi]

Makes sense. The civil service here is waaaay overstaffed. And I thought the UK was bad!

Very much off topic but ...
Having worked in megacorps in the private sector for 30 years in the UK, my experience is that people who work in the public sector are much more hardworking, dedicated and underpaid and have an integrity that is often lacking from the golfing junket, Rolex comparing world that I am fleeing.
(I would exclude small businesses from that sweeping generalisation. But, then, there are less and less small businesses, left.)

I have a lot of respect for civil servants who have to do the bidding of the lunatics we elect as their masters.

 

[Goldie]

I would place a personal bet that it does not start till 31 Dec 2104.

That would be nice Chris - I won't care by then but I doubt you'll be around to collect!

 

[Tony Cross]

I had an update email from our contact at the Greek Shipping Ministry.

The gist of it was that, having put all the proposed changes and procedures in front of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) a month ago, the MoF had not come back on anything yet, due to the pressure on them by the Troica. The MoF's only comment was they were working on an electronic means of payment........

Reading between the lines, I think that the concessions that we were hoping to get - especially the one cutting out PP collecting port dues - probably will not happen. But thats only my opinion.

However the good news is that until the MoF gets back and concludes its discussions, the MoS cannot even start preparing its instruction on collection, let alone implementation. I would place a personal bet that it does not start till 31 Dec 2104.

But if there is no requirement to visit the PP to get DEKPA stamps, how many people will bother now to pay port fees? And how many PP will be interested in seeing yachties at all? If they cut the DEKPA apron strings the chances of people paying port fees is reduced not enhanced. Or am I missing something?

 

[Glyka]

But if there is no requirement to visit the PP to get DEKPA stamps, how many people will bother now to pay port fees? And how many PP will be interested in seeing yachties at all? If they cut the DEKPA apron strings the chances of people paying port fees is reduced not enhanced. Or am I missing something?

I think that with such large fines a random check will be adequate.

 

[Ravi]

I would place a personal bet that it does not start till 31 Dec 2104.

That would be nice Chris - I won't care by then but I doubt you'll be around to collect!

Goldie, I was a bit puzzled by your comment till I noticed the year was 2104!