Legal Articles

The double tax treaty between the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Latvia will strengthen the economic and commercial relations between the two countries. The Treaty was signed by the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus, Harris Georgiades, and the Minister of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, in Brussels on 24 April 2016. It should be pointed out that...

In October 2015 the Cyprus Tax Department issued the Circular 2015/13 aiming at creating a stable and credible tax system and establishing new procedures for the issuance of advance tax rulings. Recently, the Cyprus Tax Department announced, through the Decree 130/2016, that the following fees will be imposed: €1000 for tax ruling requests without an expedition. €2000 for tax ruling requests...

Prevention and monitoring of money laundering, as well as the financing of criminal and terrorist activities, is a significant factor that influences the efficient and effective operation of the global economy. Moreover, any connection with these activities has a negative influence on the reputation of institutions which might lead to a potential undermining of the banking sector and the local...

The Circular C132, issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), contains additional guidelines concerning the legal and natural persons that are included in the leak documents of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca (Panama Papers). Specifically, the instructions of Circular C132 concern the following regulated entities: Cyprus Investment Firms Administrative Service...

On Wednesday 1st of June 2016, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus approved the following: the reduction of the immovable property tax rate by 50%; the abolishment of the immovable property tax collected by municipalities and communities; According to the statement of the Minister of Finance, Harris Georgiades, this is another significant step towards tax reform and reduction...

The Department of Merchant Shipping has updated its guidelines to operators of ships calling at ports in the Republic of Cyprus concerning reporting procedures under EU Reporting Formalities Directive and the Reporting Formalities for Ships Arriving-Departing from Ports of the Republic Law of 2012 (148 (I)/2012). All the necessary information shall be provided online via the SafeSeaNet...

Cyprus is one of the most important maritime locations in the world. Precisely, Cyprus is the third largest maritime fleet in the EU and the tenth largest fleet in the world. The ideal geographical location of Cyprus between Europe, Asia and Africa and the considerable tax incentives contribute to making the island a market leader in ship management activities. Shipping is one of the most...

Civil marriage in Cyprus is governed by the provisions of Marriage Law (104(I)/2003) and it is under the jurisdiction of municipalities. Specifically, a civil wedding is officiated by the Mayor, or any other member of the municipal council, authorised by the Mayor. Additionally, a wedding ceremony could be performed by an individual authorised by the Minister of Interior for this particular...

The civil partnership (Law 184(I)/2015) legitimises the union between two individuals, regardless of gender. In other words, the civil partnership permits same-sex and opposite-sex couples to legitimise their relationship. Therefore, the approval of civil partnership by the National Parliament marks a progress concerning LGBTQI rights and equality in Cyprus. Following the approval of civil...

The major legislation that regulates mergers and acquisitions in Cyprus is the Companies Law (Cap. 113). In particular, sections 198-202 contain provisions about mergers, reconstruction and amalgamation of companies, and exchange of shares between two or more companies. Other important legislations are the Control of Concentration Between Enterprises Law (22(I)/ 1999) and the Safeguarding and...