1) In order to incorporate a company in Cyprus, the shareholders are required to comply with certain standard and well structured procedures. Upon deciding on company registration in Cyprus, the client is asked to provide the denomination of the future entity; given that the respective denomination must firstly be checked and then reserved, the client is given the possibility to state three such names as per his/her choice.
2) At the same, the client should fill out a standard form where information on the shareholding structure and company’s intended activities is provided. Along with this form and depending on the shareholding structure the client should also provide a series of documents among which we mention: copies of the passport, utility bills, and articles of association, certificate of incorporation and certificate of good standing that are to be used in the incorporation process.
3) The next thing to do is to prepare the articles of association and other registration-related documents with the help of a local lawyer. These documents must contain the company's name, board of directors, the shareholders names and addresses and the company's headquarters and object of activity. The same should also indicate the company secretary, which, according to the
4) Once the company’s documents have been duly prepared they can be submitted with the Registrar of Companies in Cyprus. As a result of this last step, the founders of the
Company obtain a Certificate of Incorporation, a Certificate of Shareholders, a Certificate of Directors and Secretary and one of the Registered Office Address.
REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPANY INCORPORATION IN
- Any person of any nationality or residence can be director or shareholder in a Cypriot company;
- the shareholders of a company established in
- a company in
- a company in
- nominee services, such as nominee director and nominee shareholder, are allowed.
SERVICES PROVIDED FOR COMPANY FORMATION IN
- drafting the Articles of Association (necessary for the opening a company in Cyprus);
The Articles of Association of an Cypriot company can be signed through Power of Attorney (the same applies to Public Notary proceedings, a step required by the Cypriot Law).
- drafting all other documents required for th incorporation of the Cypriot company;
These documents include: Specimen Signatures, Special Forms provided by the Company Registration Office in Cyprus, passport copies etc.
- arranging Public Notary procedures (The procedures for incorporating a company in Cyprus have to be done through a Cypriot Public Notary);
- offering a Registered Office in Cyprus for your company (if required);
The registered office of a company opened in Cyprus may be any address where the Cypriot company declares to have its headquarters. The registered office will be public.
- setting up a bank account for your Cypriot company.
This refers both to an initial share capital account as well as a current bank account after the company is opened in this country.
- recommending an accountant in Cyprus;
Accountancy services are recommended for any new business opened in Cyprus.
Incorporating a Private Company Limited by Shares (LTD) in Cyprus
This is the most common type of company used in Cyprus and it is founded by one ore more partners, up to 50. When a businessman wants to open a company in Cyprus must have a registered office in
Registering a Public Company Limited by Shares (PLC) in
The public company limited by shares functions the same as a private company limited by shares, except that shares are freely transferable and there is no restriction as to the maximum number of partners. The minimum share capital of a public company limited by shares is CYP 15.000 (
Establishing a Cypriot Branch, Subsidiary or Representative Office Any foreign company is able to set up branch entities in Cyprus. These can be set up as separate entities from the parent company (Cypriot companies having the foreign company as shareholder) or extensions of the parent-company in
- The standard corporate tax rate for companies that are registered in Cyprus is 10%, one of the lowest in Europe.
- The standard VAT rate is 18%, but there is a reduced rate of 8% and 5%. There are also some services and goods to which a zero VAT rate is applied. The minimum annual turnover that a company must reach in order to be mandatory to register for VAT is 15600 EUR (or 10251 EUR for acquisition of EU goods).
- There is no withholding tax on the dividends paid by a Cyprus company to its non Cyprus resident shareholders and no withholding tax applies on dividends received from EU subsidiaries.
Please contact us for more information and prices implied by opening a company in Cyprus.
Partner: Company Formation in Cyprus
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Call us now at +44 203 287 0408 to set up an appointment with our lawyers and accountants in Nicosia, Cyprus. Alternatively you can incorporate your company without traveling to Cyprus.
As a BridgeWest client, you will beneficiate from the joint expertize of local lawyers and international consultants. Together we will be able to offer you the specialized help you require for your business start-up in Cyprus.