Duty Free Privileges
- offices which are open during normal working hours and separate from private residences
- Full-time expatriate employees of the above enterprises who live and work in Cyprus during most of the year and whose remuneration
exceeds CYP12.000 per annum. All duty free privileges enjoyed by IBEs and their expatriate employees have been abolished and
cancelled as from 1 January, 2003. IBEs and their expatriate employees who already hold permits for duty free privileges will
continue to exist. Such privileges were:
- office equipment such as computers, fax machines, photocopiers, etc.
- household equipment such as television sets, video recorders, washing machines, etc.
- motor cars, including saloon and sports cars, station wagons, etc.
Those eligible for relief from duty were:
- IBEs operating continuously from their fully fledged and fully staffed
Secrecy and Confidentiality
If confidentiality is desired, it is possible to use nominee shareholders. The names of nominee shareholders appear in the public
records kept at the Department of the Official Receiver and Registrar. The Central Bank of Cyprus keeps the names of non-resident
beneficial owners strictly confidential and it does not reveal any information on individual IBE's. Central Bank employees are
bound by oath to secrecy. Only aggregate data are published from time to time in order to enable the government and the public
to appreciate progress in this sector.
The accession of Cyprus to the European Union has not altered the above regime and no EU directive exists to the contrary.
An Operational Centre
In contrast to IBE's registered in other centres, those registered in Cyprus are given a realistic choice between operating from
the offices of lawyers or accountants or from their own management headquarters.
Over 1.000 IBE's maintain fully-fledged administrative offices in Cyprus for the purpose of conducting their regional or worldwide
affairs. These IBC's employ more than 3.000 expatriates and 2.700 locals. The expatriates are accompanied by about 6.000 dependants.
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