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Cyprus

General Information

Area – 9,250 sq. km

Population – 1,142,575 people

Capital – Nicosia

Official language – Greek

Official currency – Euro (EUR)  

Key Aspects

Treaties for the avoidance of double taxation were concluded with the countries as follows: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Austria, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Canada, Ireland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Kuwait, Great Britain, France, Norway, USA, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, China, Malta, Syria, Belgium, Egypt, and Finland. 0% tax rate is levied on holding companies in Cyprus if an overseas branch pays dividends.
A special licence is required to provide banking and insurance services.

Company Type

Limited Liability Company

Corporate Legislation

Companies Act 1968 with amendments made in 1977, 1979, 1985, 1986 and 1990.

Main Requirements for Company Directors and Shareholders

There should be at least one director and one shareholder in a company. Nominee directors and shareholders are allowed to be used. Directors and shareholders may be residents of any country.
They may be both by a natural person and a legal entity.

Authorised Capital

When incorporating a firm in Cyprus, payment of company capital is not mandatory. The authorised capital of a company is determined according to a resolution. There is no minimum or maximum authorised capital stipulation. The standard share capital is EUR 1,000 divided into 1,000 shares with par value of EUR 1 each. Solely registered par value shares are allowed to be issued.

Accounting

Every 12 months a company must file: annual returns. Annual financial accounts are filed once a year.

Taxation

Value added tax – 19%

Corporate tax – 12.5%

Questions that need to be answered to prepare incorporation documents

  • Passport details of the founders and information about the directors
  • Photocopy of the ID pages of the founders’ and director’s international passports
  • Utility Bill of the directors and founders, current email addresses and phone numbers

Or:

  • Passport details of the beneficiaries and agents
  • Photocopy of the ID pages of the beneficiaries’ and agents’ passports
  • Utility Bill of the beneficiary and agent.
  • Several proposed firm names (or a name may be chosen from the list of ready-made companies)