Amendments to the Cyprus Intellectual Property regime
In an effort to fully align the existing IP regime with the parameters of the relevant OECD recommendations of the BEPS Action 5, on 14th October 2016 amendments to the current Cyprus Intellectual Property (IP) regime have been adopted and will apply retrospectively as from 1st July 2016.
The Cyprus Government through the Ministry of Interior, has approved the revised criteria for granting the Cypriot citizenship by investment, in an effort to further promote foreign direct investments in Cyprus.
The applicant must have made an investment of €2, 0 million (excluding VAT) in any qualifying investment category or combination as described below (previously it was €5.0million if applied individually or €2.5 million if applied through a collective investment scheme).
In line with developments at G20/OECD/EU level the definition of qualifying IP is expected to be narrowed as from 1st July 2016. It is expected that IP benefiting from the Cyprus IP Box prior to 1st July 2016 should continue to be eligible to benefit for a further period of 5 years i.e. until 30th June 2021.
