Expiration Of Extension Period For Annual Returns

On Friday December 18th of 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 the late submission of the Annual Return (HE32) Form to June 1st of 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 of June 2021.

Along with the HE32 form the following must be submitted:

• The company's Audited Financial Statements;
• A Confirmation in the form of a Declaration by the Secretary and Director of the company, that the Financial Statements submitted to the DRCOR are those received by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting.

According to section 120(4) of the Companies Law Cap. 113 as amended, and due to Covid-19 unforeseen delays, for the Annual Returns of 2021 and 2022 the penalty fee will start from 50 Euros and continue to rise from the first day of non-compliance at the rate of 1.00 Euro per day for the first six months of delayed submissions and 2.00 Euros per day thereafter, with the cap for the total penalty fee being 170.00 Euros.

However, for the Annual Returns of 2023 and onwards the new penalty fee will start from 50 Euros and continue to rise from the first day of non-compliance at the rate of 1.00 Euro per day for the first six months of delayed submissions and 2.00 Euros per day thereafter, with the cap for the total penalty fee being 500.00 Euros.

A company can also be struck off if the HE32 Form is not prepared and submitted.

This extension of time (for the year 2021 and 2022) has been given to Cyprus businesses to meet their statutory obligations due to the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).

A.G. Paphitis & Co LLC

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