Changes in the implementation framework of the Beneficial Ownership Registry

The Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (TEEDI), informs that on 06/12/2024, the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering (Amendment) (No. 2) Law of 2024 was published with number L.141(I)/2024.

The main changes are the following:

  1. Fines now apply to Entities only: The financial charges will only be imposed on the company or other legal entity. No financial charges will be imposed on any director and secretary. A director or managing director of a company, which refuses or omits or neglects to fulfil the obligations to submit information on the beneficial owners, is however jointly and/or severally liable with the company for the repayment of the financial burden imposed on the company.
  2. Updated (reduced) fines : Fines will now be €100 on the first day of non-compliance and an additional €50 for each consecutive day, up to a maximum of €5,000 per company or other legal entity.
  3. Other new provisions:
    • Addition of a provision, which gives the Registrar of Companies the authority to issue a Directive (Directive) for the institutionalization of the administrative review procedure and/or the submission and examination of an objection against a decision to impose a financial burden.
    • Addition of a provision, which gives the Registrar of Companies the power to delete from the register of business entities a company or other legal entity that refuses or fails or neglects to fulfil its obligations to update the information on the beneficial owners, by analogy with the procedure for deleting a company, pursuant to article 327 of the Companies Law or subsection (5) of article 57 of the Joint and Several Partnerships and Trade Names Law.
    • Addition of a provision, which gives the Registrar of Companies the power to apply to the Court for the issuance of an injunction ordering the compliance of any person with the obligations arising from article 61A of Law 188(I)/2007 and the Directives issued thereunder.

Extension and Withdrawal of Financial Charges

The House of Representatives, decided to grant an additional extension of the prescribed time for submitting information on beneficial owners for all cases of Companies and Other Legal Entities, until 31 January 2025. To implement the above decision, the Registrar of Companies issued on 16/12/2024 the amending Directive KDP423/2024. At the same the data confirmation procedure for the UBO registry for the year 2024 was extended to 31 March 2025.

It is emphasized that from February 1, 2025, non-compliance with the submission of beneficial owner information will result in the imposition of administrative and other sanctions, in accordance with the provisions of Law 188(I)/2007 on the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering, as amended and voted by the House of Representatives and put into effect on 16/12/2024, and of the Criminal Code 112/21, as amended and in force.

Following the above arrangements, TEEDI is proceeding with the withdrawal of the financial charges imposed from 01/04/2024 and the refund of the relevant amounts paid.

We are available for any additional inquiries or clarifications you may require.

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UPDATE: Employer’s Obligation to Submit Essential Terms of Employment by 28th February 2025

In December 2024, the Minister of Labour issued a Decree (ΚΔΠ 455/2024) under Section 11(6) of the Transparent and Predictable Employment Terms Law. According to this Decree, all employers are required to submit the essential terms of employment for all their employees.

The submission must be completed no later than 28th February 2025 via the Ergani portal.

Essential Terms of Employment to Be Submitted:

The Decree specifies that the following information must be submitted:

  1. Employer’s details
  2. Type of business (applicable to retail businesses)
  3. Employee details
  4. Employer’s registered office address
  5. Place of business as specified in the employment contract/agreement and the actual workplace
  6. Employee’s job description and specialization
  7. Employment commencement date
  8. Employment end date, for fixed-term contracts
  9. Indirect employer’s details, for temporary employment agencies
  10. Conditions and duration of the probationary period
  11. Duration of annual leave and method of allocation
  12. Salary/Wages frequency of payment (daily, weekly, monthly, or hourly)
  13. Standard working hours per day/week
  14. If the working schedule is unpredictable, this should be explicitly mentioned
  15. Other benefits, such as allowances, commissions, cost-of-living adjustments, etc.

We are available for any additional inquiries or clarifications you may require.

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UPDATE: Submission of monthly Employers’ Tax Return (TD7) via Tax For All (TFA)

The Tax Department has announced that during the first six months of 2025, the Employers’ Tax Return will transition to the Tax For All (TFA) System. The announcement highlights the changes in the submission process and highlights the requirement for monthly submissions.

Things to note:

Until the TFA System is operational:

  • TD7 declarations for 2023 and earlier must still be submitted through the Taxisnet system.
  • Monthly payments for tax withholding and contributions for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 will be processed via the Taxportal.

Following the launch of TFA System Launch:

  • Both the submission of TD7 declarations and the payment of taxes and contributions will be handled exclusively through the TFA system.
  • Starting from 2025, monthly TD7 declarations will be mandatory for all employers.
  • All monthly TD7 declarations for 2025 (from January onwards) must be submitted, including those for which payments were made via the Taxportal.
  • Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) for all employees will be required when submitting monthly TD7 declarations.

Next steps:

  • The Tax Department will issue guides and organise online seminars to assist with the new submission process and requirements.
  • A further anouncement confirming the launch date for enabling the TD7 submissions and payments via TFA will follow.

We are available for any additional inquiries or clarifications you may require.

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Extension of the income tax exemption of 20% or €8,550

On 15 December 2020, an amending law was published in the Gazette with respect to Article 8(21) of the Income Tax Legislation. The purpose of the amendment is to expand the existing framework of attracting employees from abroad

The basis of this Article is that the lower of €8.550 and 20% of the remuneration from any employment exercised in Cyprus by an individual who was resident outside Cyprus the tax year before the year of commencement of employment in Cyprus is exempt from income tax

Under the new framework, the exemption continues to apply for a five year period and is available to qualifying individuals commencing employment between 2012 and 2025. It is clarified that the exemption is provided in the five years that follow the year of commencing employment.

 Provisions up to 31 December 2019 (pre-amendment)

Under the old framework, qualifying individuals commencing employment in Cyprus from 2012 and onwards, can enjoy the exemption. The exemption can be claimed for a maximum period of five years, from 1 January following the year of commencing employment, up to tax year 2020.

 New Provisions as of 1 January 2020 (post-amendment)

Under the new framework, the exemption continues to apply for a five year period and is available to qualifying individuals commencing employment between 2012 and 2025. The exemption is provided in the five years that follow the year of commencing employment.

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