BACKGROUND:
Company law in Cyprus is almost identical to the United Kingdom Companies Act 1948 and makes provision for the establishment of Public Limited Companies, Private Limited Companies, Private Unlimited Companies, companies limited by guarantee having a share capital, and companies limited by guarantee not having a share capital.

Type of Company(s):
It takes about two to  four weeks to incorporate a company in this jurisdiction, however, ready-made companies are available. An urgent fee may be paid so that the company is incorporated within 2 days. A company may be incorporated by any name provided it is not thought to be undesirable by the Registrar, approval of company names should be sought prior to incorporation, as care must be taken that the name is not the same as that of an existing company.

Foreign investors tend to go for the "offshore" company.

All companies incorporated in Cyprus must have their Registered Office  situated in the country.

Every company must have at least one director, the offshore Cyprus company must have at least one director who must be an individual but need not be resident in Cyprus. All companies must have a company secretary that may be an individual or company but they must be resident in Cyprus.
There are no minimum share capital requirements, but the Cyprus company must have at least two shareholders and in the case of a private limited company not more than fifty. Nominee shareholders  may be used for the purposes of anonymity.

Every company must appoint an auditor who must be a member of a recognised body of accountants established in the United Kingdom or authorised by the Government as having similar qualifications.

In establishing an offshore company, that is a company owned by non-residents of Cyprus and having its activities outside Cyprus, permission is required from the Central Bank of Cyprus. The Central Bank requires the identity of the beneficial owners of  the shares of an offshore company disclosed to them. Note that the law makes strict provisions, which regulate the running of the Bank, and every director, officer or employee of the Bank is bound to secrecy and will be held criminally liable if they disclose information to unauthorised people or entities.

Taxation:
Resident companies are taxed at a rate of 42.5% on net profits. "Offshore" companies pay one tenth of the normal rate, that is, 4.25%. Cyprus has an excellent network of double taxation treaties with most European, Scandinavian, Eastern European countries and with the United States of America and Canada.


Summary Benefits:

• Non disclosure of beneficial ownership
  

• Well developed economically and politically
  

• Low tax rates for non-resident companies
  

• Immediate company availability
  

• An excellent network of double taxation treaties
  

• Company law is based on the UK Companies Act 1948.