Vessel registration in Croatian registers and records as part of the necessary alignment with EU acquis

Purpose – Vessel's flag is not only outward sign, but also a synonym of the vessel's state which includes the jurisdiction of the state and its control over the administrative, social, economic and technical issues related to the ship and its crew. Purpose of this paper is to show that for boat owners the choice of the flag in the modern shipping practice is a crucial factor due to numerous aspects. Design/Methodology/Approach – Croatia has recently fulfilled its strategic goals and has become a full member of the European Union. Numerous laws and regulations inherited in the accession process had an impact on all spheres of Croatian legislation, including the maritime legislation. One of the regulations that required quick adoption and quality adjustment refers to the vessels in the temporary importation, since the great majority of vessels in Croatia were in the temporary importation until the beginning of the year 2013. This paper aims at revealing the number of boats owners that re-registered their vessels under the Croatian flag in ACI marina on the territory of Primorsko-goranska country. Findings – Becoming a part of the European Union required a regulation for the European Union residual vessels owners. Their vessels are no longer treated as foreign goods and that obligates their owners to solve the customs status and also to pay VAT and customs. The specific example of adapting legislation in the field of re-registering the vessel will be analyzed as well as occurred changes of sailing under the flag before and after the Croatian accession to the European Union. Originality – This paper determines the effects of the "action" of re-registering vessels under the Croatian flag, that lasted for six months, and from which the state budget generated 303 million kunas. Except for one-time payments to the budget, the transfer to the Croatian state flag brought new taxpayers that will regularly participate in the payment of all types of taxes, such as maritime domain.