Cyprus Companies - General Information

Principal Corporate Legislation
Companies Law, Cap 113, as amended.

Type of Law
Civil with many English Common Law influences.

Language of Legislation and Corporate Documents
English and Greek.

Type of Company for International Trade, Investment & Tax Planning
Private Limited Company.

Cyprus Private Limited Company

Share Capital
Standard authorised share capital is EUR 1,000. Minimum paid up share capital is EUR 1.

Classes of Share Available
Registered shares, preference shares, redeemable shares and shares with or without voting rights.

Bearer Shares
Not permitted.

Restrictions on Trading
Banking, insurance, assurance, reinsurance, fund management, collective investment schemes, trust management, trusteeship business provision are not permitted.

Registered Office Required
Yes, must be maintained in Cyprus.

Directors
The minimum number of directors is one. Director can be of any nationality and need not be resident, but Cypriot advisable for purposes of tax residency Corporate directors are permitted.

Secretary
Required.

Shareholders
The minimum number of shareholders is one.

Publicly Accessible Records
Yes.

Nominee Shareholders and Nominee Directors
Allowed.

Location of Meetings of Directors and Shareholders
Anywhere, but Cyprus advisable for purposes of tax residency.

Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership to Authorities
No.

Taxation
The corporate tax rate is 10%.

Double Taxation Treaty Access
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan,  Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Uzbekistan.

Requirements to File Accounts
Yes.

Audit Requirements
'Yes.

Currency
Euro.

Exchange Control
None.

Language of Name
English.

Required Words
Words such as "Assurance", "Bank", "Building Society", "Royal", "Trust Company", "Trustee Company" etc. will require justification.

Name of a Company
The name of each company must end with the word "Limited" or its abbreviation "Ltd".

Time to Incorporate
Two weeks, subject to name approval.

Cost of Formation