The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a circular (C224 dated 14 July 2017) to Cyprus Investment Firms, administrative service providers, Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities, UCITS management companies and Alternative Investment Funds and their managers that it regulates, reminding them of their obligations under ministerial order 161/2016, which implements the Common Reporting Standard in Cyprus.
The order requires Cyprus Financial Institutions falling within its scope to identify, maintain and report information about individuals and entities tax resident in another jurisdiction for whom they maintain financial accounts and to report the information to the Cyprus Tax Department to the extent that it is reportable under the applicable legislation. There are four categories of reporting financial institutions, namely custodial institution, depository institution, investment entity and specified insurance company, defined by set criteria. Any financial institution falling within the defined parameters is required to submit the requisite information no later than 21 July 2017.