The Tax Administration Service (SAT) of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) provisionally seized 400 recreational boats in at least eight marinas in the sheltered port of Yucalpetén.
This was part of a tax audit that surprisingly began on Wednesday, February 21 at 8 a.m. and will continue for the remainder of the month.
In total, there are 22 tourist marinas in Yucalpetén with a total of 2,000 recreational vessels, including boats and yachts of different size and price, ranging from 20,000 to 500,000 US dollars and there could even be some worth a million dollars.
The review of the vessels’ documents is carried out by a team of tax auditors who arrived from the country’s capital.
Ship owners and marina managers, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that when the inspectors arrived they told them that it was a check to verify that there were no boats reported stolen in their facilities.
The auditors check all the documentation that confirms the legal origin and stay in the country and verify if the temporary importation of the vessels, which is 10 years, is valid or has already expired.
They also review the documentation and purchase invoices for the outboard motors that are on the boats and in the marina workshops.
The review includes batteries (accumulators), navigation equipment, communication radios, furniture, and even showers and toilet accessories.
According to workers, vessels with some irregularity were prohibited from navigation, and the owners were given 10 days to report to the SAT offices in Mérida, in the Foreign Trade section.
They must come with the original documentation and copies to verify the legal stay and origin of the ships.
The seized vessels are deposited in the marinas, whose owners are the depositaries and could be subject to fines or legal action if any are removed without authorization from the tax authority.
Aware of the tax audit, many yacht owners went this Thursday to the marinas that have not yet been intervened and took their boats to their homes in Mérida or the beach.
TYT Newsroom
