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Outside the EU - Cyprus

Updated 02/2011

Legal requirements

The Department of Customs & Excise is responsible for the imposition and collection of import duties and VAT on imported goods, including consumption taxes on goods

  • imported from other countries,
  • transported from other European Union Member States, or
  • produced locally.

To this end, it applies all controls provided by Community and national customs legislation:

  • Customs Code pdf български (bg)czech (cs)dansk (da)Deutsch (de)eesti (et)ελληνικά (el)español (es)Français (fr)Gaeilge (ga)italiano (it)latviešu (lv)lietuvių (lt)magyar (hu)Malti (mt)Nederlands (nl)polski (pl)português (pt)română (ro)slovenčina (sk)slovenščina (sl)suomi (fi)svenska (sv)[2 KB]
  • Value Added Tax Act pdf [74 KB] ελληνικά
  • Consumption Taxes Act ελληνικά

Exporting goods

It is prohibited or restrictions are imposed on the export of certain goods for the purpose of protecting society or the environment.

By virtue of its physical presence at the different exit points available in Cyprus, the Customs Department plays a major role in combating illicit trafficking of goods infringing intellectual property rights, by carrying out checks on goods and passengers' luggage.

  • Goods infringing intellectual property rights ελληνικά

Importing goods

The import of certain goods is either prohibited or restricted. This usually consists in obtaining relevant approval or inspection by a Government Department. Prohibitions and restrictions are primarily aimed at protecting society and providing a safe environment.

Goods have an economic national identity as evidenced by certificates of origin. These can be divided into:

  • Non-preferential certificates of origin: Used to determine the label of goods (made in). In some cases non-preferential origin is demonstrated through a non-referential certificate of origin. These certificates are normally issued by the Chambers of Commerce.
  • Preferential certificates of origin: Preferential origin only relates to the tariff treatment of goods coming from specific countries. A preferential certificate must be presented in order to receive the benefit of zero or reduced duty tariff.
  • Preferential treatment of goods ελληνικά
 

Administrative procedures

Exporting goods

Persons involved in the exportation of goods in respect of which customs procedures are applied, must without fail be entered in the customs register kept by the Department of Customs & Excise.

Entry in the customs register is required before customs operations or formalities, except for customs clearance for personal use and non-trade operations.

Export licences for industrial products are ensured by applying to the relevant licensing unit of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism's Trade Service.

All export licences for agricultural products are issued by the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation.

Importing goods

Persons involved in the importation of goods in respect of which customs procedures are applied, must without fail be entered in the customs register kept by the Department of Customs & Excise.

Import licences for industrial products are ensured by applying to the relevant licensing unit of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism's Trade Service.

All import licences for agricultural products are issued by the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation.

Submitting statistics

Extrastat returns are based on customs documentation and submitted as part of customs procedures. Companies must submit returns to the customs authorities in order to comply with their legal obligations.

Resources

More information on Community and national customs legislation is available on the Customs Department website:

The Trade Service of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism is responsible for issuing import and export licences for industrial products.

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

  • References

    Legal texts

    • Value Added Tax Act 95(Ι)/2000 pdf [74 KB] ελληνικά
    • Consumer Taxes Act 91(Ι)/2004 pdf [1 MB] ελληνικά
    • Customs Code Act 94(Ι)/2004 pdf [650 KB] ελληνικά

    Key documents

    • Brief customs guides ελληνικά

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