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By: A.G. Paphitis & Co LLC

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A.G. Paphitis & Co LLC

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Crypto-assets are “a type of private asset that depend primarily on cryptography and distributed ledger technology as part of their perceived or inherent value. A wide range of crypto-assets exist, including payment/exchange-type tokens (for example, the so-called virtual currencies – VC’s), investment-type tokens, and tokens applied to access a good or service (so-called ‘utility’ tokens).”1 CySEC Circular (C417) relating to crypto assets lays down the first CySEC rules around crypto assets. This Circular aims at…
In 2017, the Right of Access to Public Sector Information Law of 2017 (184 (I) / 2017) was implemented in Cyprus and has been set in force, after a period of 3 years, on the 22/12/2020. Essentially, this Law gives the right to any natural or legal person the right of access to information held by a public authority in Cyprus. This Law is similar to the UK law known as Freedom of Information Act,…
A bill was submitted to the Cyprus Parliament amending the law on income tax, in order to expand the framework for attracting workers from abroad to Cyprus, in order to maintain its attractiveness. Under the bill, workers from abroad will be exempt from 20% of income tax until 2025. If an employer-employee relationship exists, there are two key forms of expatriate relief that can be used as a deduction for income tax purposes. 20% Relief…
In February 2011, the European Parliament and the Council of European Union (EU) has adopted the Directive 2011/7/EU, “Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on late payment in commercial transactions” with the aim of protecting businesses within the EU, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), against delayed payments associated with commercial transactions and thereby improving their competitiveness as well as enhancing the functioning of the internal market.…
Is it justifiable that Cyprus has been considered by European authorities of acting as a tax haven? All the below actions taken by the Cyprus Authorities, which have been adopted into the Cyprus law, should be considered before this question is answered. Cyprus has incorporated into its tax legislation the automatic exchange of information with all European tax authorities and it has also adopted and incorporated into legislation the relevant OECD guideline, known as Common…
On the 16th of December 2020, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus, on the basis of Article 57(b) of the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law of 2007-2019, decided on the appointment of the Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry as the responsible authority for maintaining the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and other Legal Entities in Cyprus.…
On Friday, 18th of December 2020, the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver of the Republic of Cyprus (DRCOR) announced the postponement of the date of imposition of a fine for late submission of the Annual Return (HE32) Form to the 1st of April 2021. As such, private limited companies based in Cyprus are obliged by law to prepare and submit to the DRCOR the Annual Return Form (HE32) by the 1st…
The Beneficial Ownership Act (hereinafter “BO Act”) came into force in August 2020. According to the provisions of the BO Act as well as the Beneficial Owners Regulations, every Seychelles’ International Business Company (“IBC”) should maintain adequate information on Registry of the Company’s BO. One important feature of the definition of the BO according to the new BO Act is the reduction in threshold for identification of beneficial owners for legal persons from 25% (the…
From the 1 January 2021, Registered Community Designs (hereinafter “RCDs”) and European Union Trademarks (hereinafter “EUTMs”) will not provide protection in the United Kingdom. What does this mean for holders of EUTMs and RCDs? Under the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, on the 1 January 2021, the IPO will create a comparable UK trademark for all right holders with an existing EU trademark. These rights will be immediately and automatically replaced by UK…
A lot of people believe “branding” is a new trend that’s playing an indispensable role in creating successful businesses. The truth is that branding isn’t new at all and all the firms that have always been successful have been branding their products properly. With that being said, a wide multitude of entrepreneurs have been known to get excited by the entire branding scene and so decide to begin building their own brands and products from…