by Andria Papageorgiou

NewsMarch 5, 20210 comments

New consequences for late filings to the Registrar of Companies

With reference to the announcement of the Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver on the 16th of April 2020 and the publication of the Companies (Amendment) (No. 4) Law of 2020 (the “Law”) to the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus on the 17th of December 2020 (Par. I (I), No. 4794), the Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver officially announced the following:

The date of application of the measure concerning the imposition of monetary fine for the late submission of the institutionalized form HE32 (annual return) to the Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver is postponed to 1st of April 2021. At this point, it is important to highlight that the annual return shall be submitted for registration within twenty-eight (28) days from the date of its creation. The penalty fees for late submission are €50 plus €1 for every day for which the default continues within the first 6 months, plus €2 for every day thereafter for which the default continues, with maximum amount €500 for each default.

For all the other institutionalized forms that refer to the Companies (Amending) (No.3) Law, N.149(I)/2018, i.e., HE57, HE4, HE2, HE12, AE5, AE6, AE8, the respective penalty fees for late submission are implemented from the 18th of December 2020. For the sake of clarity, the submission deadlines and penalty fees for some of the abovementioned filings are the following:

• The deadline for the submission of the relevant filings in relation to a transfer of shares (HE57 form) is 14 days from the registration of this transfer. The initial penalty is €50 plus €1 for each day of delay and the maximum penalty is €250.
• The deadline for the submission of the relevant filings in relation to a change of director and secretary (HE4 form) is 14 days from the date of such change. The initial penalty is €50 plus €1 for each day of delay and the maximum penalty is €250.
• The deadline for the submission of the relevant filings in relation to a change of registered office (HE2 form) is 14 days from the date of such change. The initial penalty is €50 plus €1 for each day of delay and the maximum penalty is €250.
• The deadline for the submission of the relevant filings in relation to an allotment of shares (HE12 form) is 1 month from the date of such allotment. The initial penalty is €50 plus €1 for each day of delay and the maximum penalty is €250.

The Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver also announced that all the necessary arrangements have been made in the electronic systems of the Department, in order for the submission of the relevant filings and the calculation of the penalty fees to be done in a timely and uninterrupted manner. On this note, the public is encouraged to use the tool for calculating any such penalty by visiting the official website of the Department of Registrar of Companies.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@apapageorgiou.com.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any matter. Andria Papageorgiou Law Firm is not responsible for any actions (or lack thereof) taken as a result of relying on or in any way using information contained in this article and in no event shall be liable for any damages resulting from reliance on or use of this information.