Updates

Every year on April 7^th, World Health Day is observed worldwide, serving as an opportunity to raise awareness about pressing health issues and mobilize efforts to address them. As we celebrate World Health Day, World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen a theme that resonates deeply with the essence of its founding principles: "My Health, My Right. “This theme serves as a powerful reminder that health is not merely a privilege for a fortunate few, but a fundamental human right for all individuals, irrespective of their background, socioeconomic status, or geographical location.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (''ESMA''), as the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, issued a public statement on deprioritising supervisory actions linked to the clearing obligation for third-country pension scheme arrangements (the ''TC PSA''), pending the finalisation of the review of EMIR.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (“CySEC”) wishes herein to inform Regulated Entities that the redemption of Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities ("UCITS") and Alternative Investment Funds ("AIF") units is suspended on 29 March and 1 April 2024.

The European Banking Authority ("EBA") published the final draft Regulatory Technical Standards ("RTS") that set out the requirements, templates and procedures for handling complaints received by issuers of asset reference tokens ("ARTs").

We would like to inform you that on the 23rd of December 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has issued a ruling in relation to the TP case (C-288/22) providing clarifications on the VAT treatment to be applied for the provision of directorship services in accordance with the interpretation of Articles 9 and 10 of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC (“EU VAT Directive”).

The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") committed to investigate the use of personal guarantees by lenders to support loans to certain small businesses. The steps come in response to a super complaint from the Federation of Small Businesses ("FSB").

The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") has published the findings of its wholesale data market study, which examined competition in the markets for credit ratings data, benchmarks and market data vendor services.

The European Banking Authority ("EBA") launched a public consultation on two draft Implementing Technical Standards ("ITS") amending Pillar 3 disclosures and supervisory reporting requirements for operational risk.

We would like to inform you that the Council of Ministers has issued a Decree granting an extension to the deadline for submission of the Corporate Income Tax Return (T.D.4 form) for the tax year 2022 for companies that, as per Section 33(10) of the Income Tax Law (Ν118(I)/2002) as amended, have related party transactions and have an obligation to file a Summary Information Table (SIT).

The European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA"), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, issued a Public Statement providing market participants with clarity concerning their reporting requirements under Relevant Technical Standards 28 ("RTS28"), pending full application of the new rules under MiFID II.

The European Banking Authority ("EBA") published a technical package for version 3.4 of its reporting framework.

We would like to inform you that the Tax Commissioner, on 1 February 2024, confirms via a letter to interested parties, the intention to increase the threshold per category of transaction which will be subject to Local File documentation requirements.

The European Banking Authority ("EBA") launched an industry survey to receive input from credit institutions on their methodologies to classify exposures to environmental, social and governance ("ESG") risks, as well as on the accessibility and availability of ESG data for this purpose.

We would like to inform you that following the enactment of Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 (DAC7), operators of both EU and non-EU based digital platforms engaging in “Relevant Activities” have the obligation to collect and report certain information about the sellers that use their platforms.

The European Banking Authority ("EBA") published its heatmap following scrutiny of the interest rate risk in the banking book ("IRRBB") standards implementation in the EU.

The three European Supervisory Authorities (European Banking Authority ("EBA"), European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority ("EIOPA") and ESMA – the ESAs) published the first set of final draft technical standards under the Digital Operational Resilience Act ("DORA") aimed at enhancing the digital operational resilience of the EU financial sector by strengthening financial entities’ Information and Communication Technology ("ICT") and third-party risk management and incident reporting frameworks.

We would like to inform you that as per the Decree No. 416/2023 published in the official Gazette of the Republic, the public interest rate imposed on any overdue or refundable taxes has been increased from 2.25% per annum to 5.00% per annum. The new rate of 5.00% is applicable as from 1 January 2024.

EBA published amendments to the reporting requirements for market risk. As the implementation of the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book ("FRTB") in the EU approaches, the EBA revised the information to be reported on the own funds requirements under the alternative approaches, and adds reporting on reclassifications of instrument between the regulatory books.

We would like to inform you that the Cyprus Parliament approved an amendment to the Special Defence Contribution (“SDC”) Law reducing the SDC rate for passive interest earned by Cyprus tax residents (Individuals and Companies) from 30% to 17%.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority ("EIOPA") published the results of a Europe-wide comparative study on non-life underwriting risk in internal models.

EBA and the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") published a Consultation Paper on two draft Joint Guidelines covering suitability assessment of members of the management body, and suitability of shareholders and members with qualifying holdings of issuers of asset-referenced tokens ("ARTs") and of crypto-asset service provider ("CASPs"). The guidance will provide clarity and harmonisation with respect to the criteria to assess the suitability of the management body, the shareholders and members with qualifying holdings, thus reducing the risk of arbitrage in the application of the rules.

The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") has written to investment platforms and self-invested personal pension ("SIPP") operators setting out its concerns on the way they deal with any interest earned on customers’ cash balances. The amount of interest earned by some firms has increased as rates have risen.

We would like to remind you of the deemed dividend distribution (DDD) provisions of the Special Contribution for the Defence Law (SDC) that apply on the 31st of December 2023, and for which there is a reporting deadline on 31st of January 2024.

EBA published a Consultation Paper on draft regulatory technical standards ("RTS") specifying the requirements for policies and procedures on conflicts of interest for issuers of asset-referenced tokens ("ARTs") under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation ("MiCAR").

We would like to inform you that on the 28th of November 2023, the Cyprus Tax Department (CTD) issued Circular 11/2023 (“the Circular”) providing clarifications in relation to the imposition of the 5% reduced VAT rate on the acquisition/construction of a private residence further to the recent amendment in the Cyprus VAT Law N95(I)/2000 (“the Law").

EBA published its environmental statement in the context of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference ("COP28").

The European Banking Authority ("EBA") published its final draft Regulatory Technical Standards ("RTS") on the assessment methodology under which competent authorities verify institutions’ compliance with the requirements applicable to their internal models under the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book ("FRTB") rules.

We would like to inform you that the deadline for the payment of the second temporary tax installment for the tax year 2023 is due on 31st of December 2023.

A review by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") has found that while most Authorised Fund Managers ("AFMs") have made efforts to comply with the FCA’s expectations on the design, delivery, and disclosure of their Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") and sustainable funds, further improvement is needed.

We would like to remind you that the submission deadline for the following Countryby-Country (‘’CbC’’) reporting obligations is on 31st December 2023.