27 December 2019

The Cyprus companies can be closed down through liquidation (voluntary or enforced), or they can simply be struck off the Registrar of Companies.

New amendments to the Cyprus Companies Law are related to the strike-off procedure.

In particular, in accordance with article 327 (5) of the Companies Law, any member or creditor of a company may object to the striking-off a company from the Registrar of Companies within a period of three (3) months from the relevant publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus, as from 18 December 2018.

Under the new law, the Registrar of Companies has the power to re-instate the company without the recourse to the Court. This power applies only to situations where a company has been struck off the registrar on the basis that it did not pay the annual levy to the Registrar of Companies or it was not carrying on a business.

Such application must be made within 24 months of the strike-off provided that:

• the relevant company was carrying business at the time of strike-off,
• the company is familiar with the requirements for filing such applications,
• the company pays all fees, levies, penalties and fines due to the Registrar of Companies,
• the fee of reinstatement is paid, and
• the Registrar of Companies has good reason to believe that the strike-off has caused damage to the applicant.

The above provision of Law 372A will enter into legal force after the additional announcement made by the Registrar of Companies.