Establish a representative/ liaison office in Cyprus

Another way for an overseas company to establish a presence in Cyprus is via a representative/liaison office. This office can perform various activities on behalf of the company, but it cannot engage in any commercial business activity and general any income. The main purpose of the office would be to gather relevant information useful for the company and to intermediate business relationships between the company and its clients in Cyprus.

Procedure for establishing a Cyprus representative/liaison office

Although the office will not undertake any commercial activities, it must still be registered with the relevant authorities in Cyprus.

To establish a representative/liaison office, various documents, along with an application form and payment of registration fee, must be filed with the Cypriot Registrar of Companies such as:

• Legalised copies of articles and memorandums of the company.
• Details of the representative office chief.

Accounting obligations

A Cyprus representative/liaison office is required to annually file the financial accounts of the overseas company with the Registrar of Companies. A certified translation in Greek will be required. There are certain exemptions that apply for overseas EU companies under EU directives. Exempted companies must deliver to the Registrar a certificate signed by a director and secretary of the company to this effect and also a statement from the relevant authority of the company confirming this exemption.

Tax obligations

A Cyprus representative/liaison office will need to register for taxes in Cyprus however as it receives no income, there would be no tax to pay.