Answer
A- California Air Resource Board – It is California state agency responsible for protecting the public from the
harmful effects of air pollution & developing programs & actions to combat climate change.
- Its core mission/purpose is to promote & protect public health, welfare & ecological resources by reducing
air pollutants, contolling NOx Sox PM & Reactive Organic G ases (ROG) from vessels Q66 – Tonnage Tax
A- It is a special tax system where shipping companies are taxed or calculated based on the net tonnage (i.e. size
or cargo carrying capacity) of their qualifying ship owned or operated by the company rather than their actual income as profits.
- It provides a simpler, predictable and lower tax burden compared to regular corporate tax on income. It
encourages the growth of maritime sector by reducing tax complexities.
- The tax liability is computed using fixed daily rates that depends on the net tonnage class of the ship,
multiplied by the no. of days the vessel is operated during the tax year.
- It is an optional scheme for qualifying shipping companies.
- Countries using tnnnge tax – EU countries(Greece, Denmark, france, Italy, Germany, Sweden,Poland, Estonia,
Netherlands etc.) , south korea, Singapore, Greece ( first country to introduce this scheme)
- Qualifying ship –
a.Is a seagoing ship including vessels with a NT of 15 or more.
b.Is regstrd under MSact1958 or holds a valid license from DGS
c.Holds a valid certificate indicating its net tonnage
d.Must be primarily used for maritime commercial purposes such as cargo transport, pasngr transport or off-shore activities.
e.Must be owned or operated by a company that opts for tonnage tax scheme.
Exclusions – Fishing vessels, factory ships used for processing fish, off-shore installations like rigs & platform, harbor& river ferries, recreational ships
- Qualifying Company –
a.It is an Indian Company
b.The place of effective mngmnt of the company is in India
c.It owns at least one qualifying ship
d.The main object of the company is to carry on the business of operating ship