WHY CHOOSE THE FLAG POLE IN 2022: THE ADVANTAGES

 

 

 

If he so much on the rise among boaters in recent years, it is because the benefits of the Maritime Administration of Poland have everything to seduce you.

Indeed, the official registration for the Polish pavilion is open to all seafarers, regardless of national origin. All you need to hold a passport valid.

Validity of the Polish flag

Legally valid worldwide without restrictions, it may be flown by all recreational boats under 24 meters, regardless of the mode of propulsion: sailing, motor boating, yacht, PWC (personal watercraft jet-kind ski). Moreover, it is valid for life! So you will not need to apply for renewal or to worry about expiration. This is also the case of the French flag (not the Belgian flag or Dutch flag in hand).

Material safety and compliance (CE) ships registered in Poland

In terms of safety, it is also very flexible because the safety equipment provided on board is at the discretion of the owner of the boat (or user) and there is no regulatory visit. The boat must simply be certified and stamped EC, which is not mandatory for pleasure boats built before June 16, 1998. The issuance flag is not subject to any control or inspection of the ship, provided you address all supporting documents attesting to your good faith.

Price, annual fee and VAT registration in Poland

On the financial side, the Polish pavilion also has something to please: the application fee and circulation are very affordable, even with the MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) charged extra and vary the hull length. However, you will need to use an external provider, the cost can range from 430 to 890 €. There will be no renewal fees or annual fee NAFD kind, unless you are French resident. Furthermore, no verification of payment of VAT will be performed (see below disadvantages of this aspect).

Waiting time and format of the navigation title Polish

Finally, delays in issuing proposed by the Polish Maritime Administration are very short. The service is committed to providing you with a temporary pavilion certificate in 2 to 7 days, which lets you start browsing in order. The permanent registration will be given in 30 days.

And cherry on the cake, the administrative document holds in your portfolio, in the minimalist, robust and waterproof form of a credit card (but in case of loss of the card, duplicate fees are expected). This advantage is also competed by the future French title which, as of January 1, 2022, will be completely dematerialized and therefore printable at will.

The Polish pavilion, a false good idea?

With so many benefits, the Polish pavilion seems to bury all others, at least for foreign nationals. But before giving up your French pavilion, it is better to hope that history does not repeat and take into account what French legislation imposes you

 

The Blue Economic Act: the benefits of foreign pavilions questioned

The constraints that weighed on the world of European pleasure have deteriorated considerably in 1993 when the EU intra-Community boundaries have been opened. For personal, administrative, fiscal or economic reasons, any boater (natural or legal person) could adopt the flag of his choice and navigate the waters of the continent. Only applied only the rules and restrictions of the registration country.

Number of nationals and French residents then rushed to foreign pavilions, Dutch Pavilion and Belgian pavilion in the lead, which offered them a lot more flexibility while being less looking at the regulations than the French state.

By dictating very flexible navigation rules, Belgium and the Netherlands have become in a few years the Eldorado of boating navigation despite their faults. The first authorized the management of any motorboat without a navigation license, the upper navigation without a survival raft on board and the semi-grain or supervised navigation without specific permit, "benefits" now reserved for Belgian residents only. As for the second, it was not as drastic as its European neighbors on mandatory safety equipment on board. In addition, very flexible registration required few documents, which earned the Dutch Maritime Authorities to inherit many ships in illegality or victims of flight. The country now proposes two possible recordings:

• With the sports association Watersport Verbond, not recognized by the international authorities, without the possibility of sporting the official Dutch pavilion and now reserved for residents of the country
• With Kadaster, the National Pavilion of the Netherlands, with a complex, dear administrative procedure, which makes the security visit by the mandatory authorities.

The Maritime Authorities of the Hexagon have made it bitter. If they still allow the French to navigate under the foreign flag, the regulation evolves with the law Leroy for the blue economy on June 20, 2016: in the French territorial waters, you must navigate according to French legislation, regardless of the flag of the ship and your nationality. Therefore, wearing a foreign pavilion immediately loses its interest since it is necessary to comply with all the rules of navigation and safety, and that even remaining at the dock in a French port. This also concerns foreign boats.

Here is the text of the law n ° 2016-816 of June 20, 2016 for the blue economy:
Art. L. 5241-1-1.- Whatever their pavilion, pleasure vessels and motor vehicles belonging to natural or legal persons with their principal residence or head office in France and the pleasure vessels and the motor nautical vehicles which these persons have the enjoyment are submitted, in the French territorial waters, to all rules relating to the title of the driving of vessels and the equipment of armaments applicable on board the pleasure vessels and the Nautical motor vehicles flying French flag. "

DAFN and maritime passport right under Polish flag

To navigate in all serenity and legally in French or foreign waters if you are a French resident under Polish flag, you will still have to pay the passport right. Its amount is strictly identical to that of the DAFN (annual law of francization and navigation). In addition, it is mandatory regardless of the maritime navigation area on the globe and also in wintering.

Payment of VAT on pleasure craft in Poland

Poland claims no document proving that you have acquitted VAT on the purchase of the boat. If this omission is legal in the country, it is not in France or in many EU countries. In case of non-payment of VAT, you expose yourself, in the best case, at the risk of impossibility of a further subsequent registration under another pavilion.

In short, even if you envision boating only abroad, the navigation demand under Polish flag deserves reflection ...

How to register my boat in Poland?

If you decide to register your boat in Poland to benefit from the advantages offered by its pavilion, the team of professionals of the pleasure of boat immatriculation.com accompanies you in obtaining the title.

If on the contrary you want to make your boat frankize, we propose a request for the act of francing a pleasure boat.

Subscribe boat insurance under Polish flag

It is quite possible to ensure a boat sailing under Polish flag. Our provider partner in pleasure boats, april marine, offers you different formulas and guarantees to ensure your boat. You will be able to navigate in all serenity thanks to complete protection of equipment and occupants against claims, damage and flights.

 

Our opinion on the Polish Pavilion in 2022

Poland is very attractive to boaters around the world, and especially for trading boats doing charter or bare hull charter. The Polish registry has been able to simplify the steps and make accessible a registration for trade to any pleasure boat owner.

The black point of their offer is clearly the differentiation of their administrative department that does not mandatory the presentation of a proof of payment of VAT as do the other Community countries. This aspect opens a breach and certainly will certainly break the image of the pavilion in the coming years. This point is of course known to most European administrations, and these will not fail to scrupulously check the files from a Polish pavilion. That said, if you have in your possession the documents proving that VAT and customs duties have been paid in due form, it does not doubt that the Polish pavilion is a good option in good numbers of situations where else pavilions are not possible.

There is no doubt that all options must be studied when you buy a boat or want to change the administrative situation. That's why we are at your disposal to evaluate with you the advantages and disadvantages of each pavilion.