As of 1st January 2013, the place of supply in relation to business-to-consumer ("B2C") supplies of hiring of means of transport, other than short-term hiring, shall be the place where the consumer is established.
However, Directive 2008/8/EC provides an important exception, effective as of 1st January 2013. This Directive indicates that where such hiring relates to a pleasure boat, the supply shall be deemed to have taken place where the pleasure boat is actually put at the disposal of the consumer.
Basically, this exception means that in B2C cases of long-term hiring of a pleasure boat (exceeding 90 days), the place of supply is where the supplier of a pleasure boat is established, if this is the same Member State in which he puts the boat at the disposal of the consumer.
When applying the above to a Malta yacht leasing scenario, this means that if the consumer (lessee) enters into a lease agreement with a Malta Company (lessor) for the use of the pleasure boat, the place of supply should be in Malta, if the boat is brought to Malta at the beginning of the lease and put available to the consumer in Malta.
