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Notice for the submission of beneficial ownership data onto the Register of Beneficial Owners and imposition of fines ⤵️⤵️⤵️


The Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property has announced that the final solution of the electronic system of the Register of Beneficial Owners is expected to be implemented towards the end of October 2023. In this respect all companies incorporated under The Companies Law Cap. 113, European public limited companies (SE), and Partnerships, including their officers/partners, are urged to submit the details and information of their beneficial owners to the existing interim solution system of the Register of Beneficial Owners by 30 September 2023, if not already done so. This will prevent potential fines, penalties, or criminal proceedings for non-compliance.

With the introduction of the final solution of the system, entities will have a one (1) month window to confirm and complete the data in the existing interim solution system before the migration of all data to the final solution system for all entities. During this month, any requests for exemption of disclosing information as well as grounds for due diligence should be submitted.

At the end of this one (1) month period, non-compliant companies will automatically face fines through the final solution system of the Register of Beneficial Owners.

It is reminded that, irrespective of individual criminal liability or potential prosecution, a corporate or other legal entity (and each of its officers) may incur a fine of €200 for non-compliance. This fine may be accompanied by a daily penalty of €100, with a maximum charge of €20,000. Importantly, an officer of a corporate or other legal entity will be exempt from such fines if they have exercised due diligence in adhering to the provisions of N.188(I)/2007 and Directive P.I. 112/2021, as amended, and the violation is not attributed to their actions, omissions, or negligence.

𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙎𝙏 𝙀𝙈𝙋𝙇𝙊𝙔𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏 𝙄𝙉 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙍𝙀𝙋𝙐𝘽𝙇𝙄𝘾 – 𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙏 𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙇𝙊𝙋𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙎

𝐹𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝓊𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓊𝓅𝒹𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈!

𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙖𝙬 𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙡𝙚 ８(23𝘼)

On 30 June 2023, an amending law with regards to Article 8(23A) of the Cyprus income tax legislation was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus. The amending legislation has a retrospective effect, as from 1 January 2022.
As per the amending law, various changes have been introduced with regards to the conditions for eligibility of the 50% exemption from income tax for first employment in Cyprus.
It should be noted that as a result of its retrospective application, special provisions have also been introduced for individuals who were eligible for the 50% exemption under the initial Article 8(23A), as it was in place prior to the publication of the amending law, but do not satisfy all the conditions under the amended Article 8(23A).
1. Analysis of the amended provisions of Article 8(23A)
The amended provisions of Article 8(23A) relate to the following areas:
1.1 Amended definition of "first employment in the Republic"
As per the previous version of Article 8(23A), an individual is deemed to have “commenced first employment in the Republic” when for the first time exercises salaried services in the Republic either to an employer resident in the Republic or to a non – resident employer in the Republic, without taking into consideration occasional full-time or part-time employment in the Republic for a period not exceeding in total 120 days in a tax year.
As per the amending legislation, an individual is now deemed to have “commenced first employment in the Republic” when for the first time, following a period of 15 consecutive tax years whereby the individual has not exercised any employment services in the Republic, commenced to exercise salaried services in the Republic, either to an employer resident in the Republic or to an employer non – resident in the Republic.
1.2 Employment income eligible for the 50% exemption
As per the previous version of Article 8(23A), the 50% exemption is applicable only to employment income with regards to first employment in Cyprus and therefore the exemption cannot continue once first employment is terminated, e.g in cases where a change of employer takes place.
As per the amending legislation, the 50% exemption is available to eligible individuals with regards to income arising from any employment in Cyprus (assuming that they satisfy the requirements for first employment - see point 1.1 above).
1.3 Period of non-Cyprus tax residency prior to commencement of first employment in Cyprus extended to 15 years
As per the previous version of Article 8(23A), an individual should not have been a Cyprus tax resident for a period of at least 10 consecutive years prior to the commencement of first employment in Cyprus in order to be eligible to claim the relevant exemption.
As per the amending legislation, in order for a taxpayer to be eligible to claim the relevant exemption, the individual should not have been a Cyprus tax resident for a period of at least 15 consecutive years prior to the commencement of first employment in Cyprus.
1.4 Special provision introduced for individuals that were eligible for the exemption under the previous version of Article 8(23A)
Individuals that commenced employment in Cyprus prior to the date of publication of the amending legislation of Article 8(23A) (i.e. 30/6/2023) and were eligible for this exemption in accordance with the provisions of the previous version of Article 8(23A), can still continue to benefit from that exemption, provided that all the relevant conditions that were previously in place are satisfied.

Cyprus companies: 2023 Temporary tax first instalment ‼️

Companies that expect to have taxable income for the year 2023 must pay the first instalment of the temporary (provisional) tax by the 31st of July 2023.
The tax, calculated as 12.5% on the taxable income, is payable in two equal instalments, by the 31st of July and the 31st of December of 2023. Late filing of the return and payment of the tax will attract interest and penalties.
The aim of payment of the provisional tax is to avoid a 10% “additional tax”.
However, to achieve this, your estimated taxable income must be at least 75% of the final taxable income as it will be determined by your company’s audited financial statements.
May we further remind you that you can revise this temporary assessment before the end of each calendar year.
If you expect that your company will have taxable income for the year 2023, please contact us using the email [email protected] or send us a Direct Message on our page by the 21st of July, 2023, to arrange the payment of the first instalment of the provisional tax.
Finally, please note that the final instalment must be transferred by the 15th of December 2023.
Do not hesitate to contact us directly should you require any further assistance about the 2023 Temporary tax first instalment.