BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: André Kegels, Kegels Advocaten
6.4 Arrest of Vessels Subject to Foreign Arbitration or Jurisdiction If the claim that is subject to a foreign arbitra - tion and/or jurisdiction allows an arrest of the vessel, the fact that the merits of the case are to be heard abroad is no hindrance. The arrest is a protective measure. If the applicable law or agreements between the parties refer the case to another jurisdiction, an arrest is still possi - ble. The security obtained by the arrest can be executed only once a foreign decision or award condemns the creditor. 6.5 Domestic Arbitration Institutes There is no arbitration institute that deals solely with maritime matters. Such matters can be arbitrated before the Bel - gian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (CEPA - NI), which also deals with other, mostly com - mercial, matters. Within the CEPANI there are specialised maritime arbitrators. 6.6 Remedies Where Proceedings Are Commenced in Breach of Foreign Jurisdiction or Arbitration Clauses The authority of the Belgian court is to be con - tested as a first defence based on the foreign jurisdiction or arbitration clause. Unless the clause is invalid or not opposable to the claim - ant, the court will respect it and declare itself without authority. 7. Ship-Owners’ Income Tax Relief 7.1 Exemptions or Tax Reliefs on the Income of Ship-Owners’ Companies The Principles Under Belgian law, both the tonnage tax regime and the accelerated depreciation regime are available. They are alternatives and cannot be
used together. Careful consideration must be made as to which one needs to be applied and when. Also, reinvested capital gains can be exempt from taxes. In addition, a vessel that comes into Belgian possession for the first time can, under certain conditions, deduct 30% of the purchase price. Again, these are alternatives to the Ton - nage Tax and cannot be used together with that Tonnage Tax. Tonnage Tax – General Within the EU, the guidelines to be respected by the individual member states are set by the EU Commission in its “Guidelines on State Aid to Maritime Transport”. In November 2017, the EU Commission approved the Belgian support measures for maritime transport for another ten years. A few changes to the already existing Bel - gian rules had to be made to comply with those guidelines. Interestingly, dividends paid by Belgian tonnage tax companies comply with the subject-to-tax condition. Tonnage Tax – for Ships A tonnage tax can be applied to shipping com - panies, core revenues from shipping activities and certain ancillary revenues that are closely connected to shipping activities (which are now capped at a maximum of 50% of a ship’s operat - ing revenues). Tonnage Tax – for Towage and Dredging On the condition that 50% of revenues from tow - age or dredging comes from the high seas, the tonnage tax can be applied.
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