Section 5 of the Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law as amended requires companies to file their tax return for any year no later than the end of the following year. A three month extension is allowed if the return is filed electronically. As electronic filing is now compulsory this effectively means that the tax return must be submitted no later than 15 months after the end of the tax year. For example, company income tax returns for the year 2012 were due before 31 March 2014.
In response to the recommendations of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and within the framework of a wider action plan to improve tax compliance, the tax authorities have extended the deadline in a number of instances.
Company income tax returns for the year 2012
The last date for electronic filing of returns for 2012 has been extended by three months to 30 June 2014.
Company income tax returns for the years 2008-2011
On 7 March 2014 the Inland Revenue Department announced that as part of its initiative to improve compliance it had completed the first phase of sending reminders for tax returns through the Taxis¬ net electronic filing service for the tax years 2008 to 2011. All companies that had not yet submitted returns for the tax years 2008 to 2011, were reminded to do so without delay via notices sent to each company (IR 22(2014) and Circular No. 2014/2 dated 30 January 2014. The Department advised all companies that had not received a reminder nor submitted a tax return for one of these years to contact their local Income Tax Office to verify the information contained in the department's records, so that they can immediately comply with the requirement to file tax returns.
As stated in the reminder, non-compliance will incur an automatic penalty of €100 under section 50A(a) of the Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law and continued non-compliance will incur a further automatic penalty of €200 under section 50A(b) and legal action to remedy the default. The deadline for filing returns was initially 15 April 2014 but it was subsequently extended to 9 May 2014.
Dormant companies
Inland Revenue Circular 2014/2 dated 30 January 2014 reiterates the tax authorities' definition of a dormant company and the information it must include in its tax return. Dormant companies must file their tax return for the year 2011 on form IR 163 _DOR no later than 9 May 2014. Only a director of the company may sign the tax return on the company's behalf.
Non-resident companies incorporated or registered in Cyprus
Inland Revenue Circular 2014/3 dated 20 March 2014 sets out the information that non-resident companies must include in their tax return and requires the return for the year 2011 to be submitted no later than 9 May 2014.
Companies with which contact has been lost, or contact with the beneficial owners has been lost
By an announcement dated 7 March 2014 the Inland Revenue Department requested the Cyprus representatives or advisers of companies they were no longer in contact with to complete a declaration in a prescribed form (IR 163 _CON) that contact had been lost and that they were not in a position to submit tax returns, and to give the Inland Revenue Department the company's last known contact details. The deadline was initially 21 March 2014 but it was subsequently extended to 31 May 2014.
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