News item | 22-07-2022 | 18:50
The European Commission approves the fisheries restructuring scheme. Following the approval, the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality has definitively adopted the scheme. The scheme will open on 1 September and will be published in the Government Gazette on Monday 25 July. A budget of €155 million is available for the remediation scheme.
The funds from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) will be used for the remediation. The BAR is aimed at absorbing the consequences of Brexit. The restructuring scheme is intended for those entrepreneurs who no longer see a future in fishing. Because a large part of the Dutch fisheries sector will be affected by Brexit, this remediation round is expected to largely implement the proposed remediation in the Kottervision. Minister Staghouwer indicates that remediation is not an easy step for entrepreneurs.
Minister Staghouwer: ‘‘I understand that remediation hurts. It is, after all, the end of a way of life. I therefore hope that also in this time the fishing communities look after each other to give everyone the space and opportunity to make the right decision.”
Requirements
Owners of fishing vessels who want to make use of the scheme must be able to demonstrate that they will experience the consequences of loss of quota as a result of Brexit. For this, they must be 20% dependent on quotas affected by Brexit. Rehabilitated vessels must be scrapped before 1 April 2024. The capacity associated with the fishing vessel in the fisheries register will also be definitively taken and deducted from the maximum total Dutch fleet capacity.
Beneficiaries of the reorganization scheme are not allowed to register a new fishing vessel for five years. Another important condition is that quotas (individual fishing rights) linked to the remediated vessel or reserved in the name of the license holder will lapse. The reference date for determining the quantity of quotas is 22 July 00:00. Any requests for changes must be processed before the stated date and time. Change requests sent by post must be sent before the last bus release on Thursday 21 July.
Revision quota system
In fisheries, quotas apply to some fish stocks. The quota of some fish stocks is divided into individual fishing rights, called quotas. With a quota, a fisherman is allowed to catch a certain percentage of this quota. Quotas are transferable under certain conditions, which also makes it possible to give them to another fisherman. As already indicated in the Kottervision, there is a desire to build in positive incentives for further sustainability of the sector through quota management.
Eliminating the quotas of fishermen participating in the restructuring scheme and transferring them to active fishermen is a first step in the revision of the quota system. Sustainable fishermen can be rewarded in the future with extra fishing opportunities. It will also make the system more accessible to new fishermen and contribute to a more transparent distribution of fishing opportunities.
Financial and tax aspects
Owners who wish to make use of the remediation scheme will receive an amount per gross tonnage (GT) of the vessel. Receipts for the scrapping of this vessel will be deducted from the total amount. The amount per GT is determined on the basis of the average loss of income of the fishing vessel owner when they stop fishing in eight years. The loss of income is calculated on the basis of the reference years 2015 to 2019, the corona crisis is thus excluded from the reference period.
The restructuring scheme is regarded as government intervention in the context of income tax. This broadens the application of the reinvestment reserve. In this tax scheme, income tax does not have to be paid directly on the difference between the subsidy amount obtained for a business asset and its fiscal book value. However, this amount must be reinvested in another business asset. Due to the expansion, this new business asset does not have to be used for the same economic function.
bridging arrangement
At the request of the House of Representatives, the cabinet previously decided to work out a bridging scheme for cutters pending the remediation scheme. Minister Staghouwer indicates that the intention is to “maintain a healthy and viable fishing sector for the Netherlands”. In the coming period, Minister Staghouwer will use the sector, banks and advisers to look at how this bridging scheme can be implemented in relation to the restructuring scheme and the transition the sector is facing.
Entrepreneurs who want to continue are supported with innovations for sustainable and profitable fishing. To support fishermen in making important choices, the ‘Ondernemershulp’ has been set up at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Entrepreneurs can go here for information about, among other things, the available subsidy modules, licensing obligations and the associated conditions.