In 1719 Emperor Charles VI from Habsburg allowed the status of free port to the port of Trieste. So far this special status has been maintained, recognized and granted by international agreements. It is a customs free port (facilities on direct taxation are not expected: it can’t be assimilated by the free areas of Dubai and Montecarlo) and these are its advantages.
Goods in foreign transit for foreign countries or not yet dispatched
A first and immediate benefit comes from the fact that foreign goods can be kept in the free port as foreign goods: for an unspecified period, until they are destined, without the payment of customs offices or inland duties until the moment of the eventual import, without the necessity to guarantee Customs for an amount equal to the duty and the VAT at the import. Unlike any other free zone or customs warehouse, it is not necessary to introduce to Customs any declaration as far as the goods remains inside the free port and there is no need to emit documents of transit for the transfer from the port to the Customs warehouse. The advantage is immediate for the goods coming from a non EU country and are addressed to another non EU country. It is a safe advantage also for those goods coming from a non EU country on consignment, that means that are not sold yet, but can later be sold both to a non EU and a EU buyer.
Import destined goods
A second benefit of the free port is given by the possibility to pay a duty and the VAT to the import after 180 days from the date of the import at a passive rate of interest equal to 50% of the Euribor at 6 months. This advantage can be used also from the European importers (not Italian), who wish to import goods near Trieste port rather than by the customs of their own Country. The forwarders of Trieste port are available to perform this import operations for the community companies interested.
Processing of goods deposited in the free port
One of the main advantages of free port consists of the tax system of the operations done to the goods in the free port. Manipulations which do not change the customs nature of the goods (for example the operations of selection, sampling, labelling, drying and qualitative improvement in general), can be done on the goods deposited in the Free Port without paying any duty or VAT on the their value. The manipulations which modify the custom nature of the goods can be done on the goods deposited in the Free Port only if authorized by the Customs. If the product obtained will be imported, obviously there will be duties and VAT to be paid according to the new classification. But if the goods will be sent to a non EU country, nothing will have to be given in terms of taxes for the value added to the goods. Moreover, for these operations it is possible to use electric energy and other energetic forms at reduced cost, after the reduction of the excise tax. On this kind of processed, always under customs authorization, it is possible to obtain also the trademark of “made in Italy”.