There is no audit exemption
This is the sentence most often reported wrongly. Article 152A(1)(a) of the Companies Law Cap. 113 lists who must submit their financial statements to audit by one or more statutory auditors:
| Who | |
|---|---|
| i | every company required to prepare consolidated financial statements |
| ii | every public-interest entity |
| iii | every private limited liability company |
| iv | every public limited liability company |
Item iii is the decisive one: it sets no size threshold, no turnover limit, and no exception for companies that did nothing during the financial year. A dormant Cyprus company falls under it exactly as a company with millions in turnover does. Anyone who forms a company takes on this obligation at incorporation.
The exception is a substitute, not an exemption
Paragraph (d) of the same provision allows the companies in item iii — the private companies — to submit the accounts to a review instead of an audit.
What matters is what stays the same: the review is performed by a statutory auditor or statutory audit firm within the meaning of the Auditors Law. What falls away is not the professional but the depth of the engagement.
The Companies Law defines the standard itself: International Standard on Review Engagements 2400 (ISRE 2400), issued by the International Federation of Accountants through the IAASB, as amended from time to time. In practice that means limited assurance — the practitioner gives no audit opinion but states that nothing has come to their attention suggesting the accounts are not properly prepared.
The two thresholds
The review is available where both figures are not exceeded at the balance sheet date:
| Measure | Limit |
|---|---|
| Net turnover | €300,000 |
| Balance sheet total — total value of the assets, without deducting liabilities | €500,000 |
Many overviews still quote €200,000 here. That was the former turnover limit; the text in force says €300,000. The balance sheet limit is unchanged.
Two consecutive years, not one
The first proviso limits the review in time: it is available only where, at the balance sheet date, the company does not exceed the two limits — or ceases to exceed them — for at least two consecutive financial years.
Two practical consequences follow:
- In its first financial year, a newly incorporated company cannot yet satisfy the “two consecutive years” condition.
- After a strong year, a single weak year is not enough to return to the review route. It takes two.
Who cannot use the review route
Three groups stay with the full audit:
- Parent companies with a consolidation obligation. A separate item expressly excludes parent companies required by the Law to prepare consolidated accounts from paragraph (d).
- Public-interest entities.
- Public limited liability companies. Paragraph (d) refers only to item iii, that is, to the private ones.
Which accounting rules apply
The Companies Law defines the International Financial Reporting Standards as the International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in force from time to time, with their related texts, issued under the oversight of the IASB.
For a small Cyprus company this means there is no simplified national standard the accounts could follow instead. The relief lies in the engagement, not in the reporting framework.
The corporate tax return T.D. 4
From tax year 2026 the return is due on 31 January of the second year after the tax year — thirteen months after year end. Up to tax year 2025 it was 31 March of the second following year.
| Tax year | T.D. 4 due |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 31 March 2027 |
| 2026 | 31 January 2028 |
The final tax payment falls on the same 31 January from tax year 2026. The rate has been 15% rather than 12.5% since tax year 2026 — more on that and on loss carry-forward in the overview of the tax reform.
Provisional tax and the 75% trap
Running separately from the return is provisional tax: two equal instalments on 31 July and 31 December of the tax year itself, revisable until 31 December.
The trap is the 75% rule: if the declared provisional income falls below 75% of the income finally assessed, additional tax of 10% applies to the difference between the final and the provisional tax. It bites even where the return was filed on time — the estimate comes before the return, and it is measured afterwards.
Where each thing goes
Two authorities, two deadlines, and neither reminds you about the other:
| Recipient | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| Registrar of Companies | Audited accounts as the attachment to annual return HE32 | within twelve months of the balance sheet date |
| Tax Department | Corporate tax return T.D. 4 | 31 January of the second year after the tax year |
No more than fifteen months may pass between two annual general meetings. The full annual calendar is in the tax deadlines.
What we could not verify
- From which financial year the €300,000 limit applies. The consolidated text states €300,000; secondary sources date the change to financial years beginning on or after 6 February 2026. We did not read the amending law itself, so we do not present that date as fact.
- Whether a review costs the same as an audit. Fees are unregulated, and we could not substantiate reliable ranges.
- Whether moving from review to audit must be notified. The Law governs availability, not a notification procedure.
- Any quantified penalty for late accounts vis-à-vis the Tax Department. Amounts are published for a late HE32 to the Registrar; for the accounts as an attachment to the tax return we found no separate sanction.
- Whether a dormant company with no bank account and no entries also needs full accounts. On the wording of item iii it does; we found no official clarification for that case.