Controls are being tightened for chefs on foreign-flagged ships.
Meanwhile, the Lucca court has consolidated its case law in favor of seafarers regarding the taxation of income from work for captains on foreign-flagged vessels.
With a recent ruling dated January 29, No. 42/2025, the Lucca Tax Court of Justice consolidated its position in favor of an interpretation of Article 5, paragraph 5, of Law No. 88/2001, according to which, "for Italian seafarers employed on ships flying a foreign flag, for whom [...] the calculation based on the conventional wage is not applicable, income derived from work performed on such ships for a period exceeding 183 days in a twelve-month period continues to be excluded from the taxable base."
The Tax Court of Lucca, on the one hand, reiterates an important principle, already previously expressed, according to which “The provision (art. 5, paragraph 5, law no. 88/2001, ed) does not require that the vessel, flying a foreign flag, sail in international waters and, therefore, can also be moored for long periods in Italian ports": it can now be considered consolidated, according to Lucca jurisprudence, the principle according to which the maritime work relevant for tax purposes is that which is carried out on the vessel, regardless of whether it is at sea or in an Italian port.
On the other hand, the ruling upholds and therefore consolidates another important issue that has long been raised by lawyers Michael Tirrito and Jacopo Lorenzi of the law firm Slt Yacht in their appeals, namely that "in the absence of various elements, it must be assumed that the 183-day calculation also includes vacation periods, public holidays, weekly rest periods, and other non-working days, regardless of where they occurred."
Commander Andrea Segato of Viareggio expressed his satisfaction with the latest ruling, which secured another favorable ruling in his case with the Lucca Revenue Agency, closing all outstanding claims.
From another perspective, it should be noted that the Financial Administration has begun verifying compliance with the requirements for the application of Article 5, which also applies to other categories of seafarers, such as chefs on ships flying foreign flags.
The same legal issues raised in the proceedings brought by captains are believed to apply to them as well. However, their positions are often more complex to manage because, not infrequently, chefs lack extensive evidence of their work on board. Such documentation is, in fact, central and necessary in the tax process to support the application of a favorable provision such as the one cited above.
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A workshop for captains and crews organized by SUPER YACHT 24 on February 18th in Genoa
