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CYPRUS: More applications for company registration

05 September, 2014

The number of applications submitted to the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver for company registration increased for the sixth consecutive month, in August 2014. However it remained at lower levels than those before the deposits' haircut in Cyprus, in March 2013.

According to the Department’s statistics, the number of applications for company registrations reached 722 in August this year, while the corresponding number in August 2013 was 618, recording an increase of 16.8%.

In July 2014, the number of applications recorded the biggest increase since March 2013 (25.3%) reaching 1,138 from 908 during the corresponding month of 2013.

The number of applications for new registrations before March 2013 and more specifically in August 2012 reached 1,264, while in August 2011 they were up to 1,539.

Total registrations from the beginning of 2014 until the end of August 2014 reached 7,297, compared to 7,304 during the corresponding period of 2013.

During 2013 the number of applications reached 10,927 and in 2012 18,098.

The number of registered companies was on August 31, 2014, 266,624, while during the corresponding period of 2013 they were 272,157 and in 2012 269,345.

Immovable Property Tax

The Cyprus Immovable Property Tax laws 1980-2004 state that there is a tax liability on the total value of immovable property for all property owners, resident in Cyprus or not. The liability is annual and is based upon the value, as at 1 January 1980, of all immovable property registered in an individual’s name.

The complexity of this tax is increased where title deeds are not be held, or where the registered owner of the immovable property is a developer or company. It is advisable to exercise caution in this regard.

At the time of writing (4 November 2013), there are frequent changes of deadline terms and discounts.

Assessed 1980 Value (€)      Tax Rate (%)

1 - 12,500   0%

12,501 - 40,000   0.6%

 40,001 - 120,000   0.8% 

120,001 - 170,000    0.9% 

170,001 - 300,000   1.1% 

300,001 - 500,000   1.3%  

500,001 - 800,000   1.5% 

800,001 - 3,000,000  1.7%

More than 3,000,000 1.9%

Double tax treaties

Cyprus has double-taxation treaties with 44 countries worldwide, including most of the high-tax countries in Western Europe, and many states in Central and Eastern Europe. As a low-tax centre, Cyprus is a particularly effective location for companies aimed at emerging markets. On top of this, the economy is strong and stable, and business costs are generally low.

Article published on www.50connect.co.uk

“Watch Your Way
Anyone hunting for a bargain buy in Turkish occupied Cyprus should think about how the new EU accession bill affects them.

Following the Turkish invasion of 1974 and the forced eviction of more than 170,000 Greek Cypriots - now approximately, 220,000 counting children - from their ancestral homes, and the illegal occupation of 36,4% of the Republic of Cyprus’s territory, the Turkish occupation regime placed the properties of dispossessed owners at the disposal of its own "authorities," the Turkish military, and ordinary Turkish Cypriots.

After the commencement of Turkey’s organised colonisation of occupied Cyprus in late 1974 many such properties were handed over to Turkish mainland settlers. The distribution of properties was also used by the Turkish Cypriot leadership to “buy off” political influence both within and without the Turkish Cypriot community.

In the eyes of the law, approximately 82% of the privately owned land in the occupied areas was owned by Greek Cypriots, while the Turkish Cypriots owned approximately 16.7%. Therefore, it is very important to note that any purchase of property in that part of Cyprus is in jeopardy since it is legally owned by Greek Cypriot refugees who were forced to flee in 1974 in order to save their lives from the invading Turkish forces.

Cypriot authorities state that 'any investment of immovable property in the occupied area is insecure and any investor runs the risk to be brought before justice by the legal owners of that property. Entering into a contract for the purchase of such property in the area under Turkish military occupation that belong to Greek Cypriots, constitutes an illegal act which will expose the purchaser to grave legal and financial consequences.'

Based on such case law Greek Cypriots who own property in the occupied area, remain, at all times, the rightful legal owners of such property and their rights stand unaffected. So if you are thinking of buying a cut-price property in occupied Cyprus, think again. The majority of indigenous Turkish-Cypriots possess passports and other travelling documents of the legitimate and internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus, highlighting the fact that the vast majority of Turkish-Cypriots recognise the Republic of Cyprus as their legitimate Governement.

Furthermore, they fully expose the illegality of the expropriation of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied area and the risks to anyone who is tempted to enter into illegal transactions regarding such properties. Purchasers run the risk of being sued at any time by the Greek Cypriot owners, before the Courts of the Republic of Cyprus, as indicated by the case of Mr. Meletios Apostolides, a displaced person from the occupied village of Lapithos.

Those considering buying property in the occupied territory of Cyprus, should bear in mind that the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the E.U. will offer lawful owners of property in the occupied territory, who continue to be prevented from enjoying their property rights, to seek redress and safeguard those rights through the European legal system.

VAT increased

The standard rate of VAT increased from 17% to 18% as from 14 January 2013 and then to 19% as from 13 January 2014

Annual levy of €350 for Cyprus Registered Companies

A levy has been imposed on Cyprus Companies for the amount of EURO 350 per annum.

Law 190(I)/2012 amended the Law 117(1) of 2011 on Company Law by which introduced the annual levy on Cyprus Companies for the amount of EURO 350.