The Department of Merchant Shipping recently announced that with effect from the 2012 tax year, all owners of foreign ships, charterers and ship managers participating in the tonnage tax system must submit a declaration by their legal representative or auditor in the prescribed form, together with their tonnage tax declaration.
The declaration confirms that the company concerned was a tax resident of Cyprus for the relevant year, sets out the tonnage of qualifying and non-qualifying ships and confirms that any non-qualifying income has been appropriately accounted for and declared.
The relevant form, Form MSTT8, can be downloaded from the Department of Merchant Shipping's website. If the declaration is signed by a director or secretary of the registered owner or bareboat charterer, it must be accompanied by a certificate issued by the registrar of companies listing the directors and secretary. If the declaration is signed by a person acting in the capacity of an authorised representative, a valid power of attorney in favour of the signatory must also be submitted. Owners, charterers and ship managers that have already submitted their 2012 tonnage tax declaration must provide the additional declaration as soon as possible.
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