New penalties for late submission of Annual Returns (HE32) to the Registrar of Companies in Cyprus

November 21, 2019
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New penalties have been introduced by the Cyprus Registrar of Companies, in relation to the late submission of the Company’s Annual Return (HE32), effective from the 18th December 2019.

According to the present Cyprus Company Law, all Cyprus companies are required to file to the Registrar of Companies in Cyprus, their Annual Return, which must be accompanied by the Company’s audited financial statements of the previous year.

Further to the new amendments of the Cyprus Company Law, annual returns of Cypriot companies for all previous years shall be submitted to the Cyprus Registrar by 18th December 2019, in order to avoid penalties.

Penalties for Annual Returns for all years up to 2018 inclusive

Annual Returns for all years up to 2018 inclusive, should be submitted to the Registrar of Companies by the 18th December 2019, in order to avoid the new penalties.

Penalties for Annual Returns for 2019 and future years

HE32 for the year 2019, accompanied by 2018 audited financial statements shall be submitted on or before 28 January 2020. Any delay in submitting 2019 Annual Return will result in the following additional penalties:

  • €50 one-time penalty; plus
  • €1 for each day of delay during the first six months and then €2 for each day after the first six months, up to a maximum total of €500

Example 1: If the Cyprus Company had to submit its annual return of 31 December 2017 accompanied by the audited financial statements of the year 2016, by the 28th January 2018 and it did not do so, then, there will be a total charge of €40.

Example 2: If the Cyprus Company had to submit its annual return of 31 December 2019 accompanied by the audited financial statements of the year 2018, by the 28th January 2020 and it did not do so, then, there will be a charge of €20, plus a penalty of €20 and then an additional penalty of €50 and €1 per day of delay, during the first six months and then €2 for each day of delay after the six months, up to a maximum of €500.

Further to the above Law amendments, since Cyprus Companies’ Annual Returns can only be submitted to the Registrar of Companies, accompanied by the audited financial statements of the previous year, it is important that all audited financial statements up to the year 2018 inclusive are prepared.