Half of businesses breach new tax rules, inspections find

Economy taxtax reform Half of businesses breach new tax rules, inspections find Tax Department Relevant News Half of businesses breach new tax rules, inspections find 29 July 2026 Cross-party backing for Cyprus’s apartheid state 29 July 2026 Cyprus hunting season kicks off August 23 under new digital rules 29 July 2026 Eleftheria Paizanou 29 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Half of the businesses inspected by Tax Department officers in recent days were found to be in breach of new tax legislation introduced under the tax reform, according to information obtained by Phileleftheros. Officers found businesses that either failed to issue receipts or invoices to customers, or did not accept credit cards as a form of payment. Phileleftheros says the findings from these initial raids, carried out under the premises-sealing enforcement measure being applied for the first time against businesses that violate the legislation, have raised concern among tax authorities, adding that although the sample of inspections was relatively small, the number of violations found points to the scale of the problem. Over the past ten days, authorised Tax Department officers carried out targeted, on-the-spot and unannounced inspections at 30 businesses in coastal areas. The raids covered restaurants, bars, water sports businesses, souvenir shops, kiosks and boat trip operators in Ayia Napa, Protaras, Larnaca and Paphos. During the inspections, officers, applying guidance given to them in training seminars, cross-checked what they found in businesses’ records against information obtained from customers, checking as customers left whether the receipts and invoices issued matched, and whether they had paid by credit card. Businesses that continue not to comply after a new deadline expires will be visited again, and will be issued a third letter if they still fail to comply. If they do not come into compliance within five days after that, their premises will be sealed. Tax authorities described the response from the public as particularly positive, saying the high rate of letters issued during the first round of raids reflects both the successful targeting of businesses and a well-prepared plan, and that citizens have been fully cooperating with authorised officers and providing the information requested during inspections. The inspections form part of a wider, islandwide tax compliance campaign being carried out by the Tax Department through targeted on-the-spot checks, aimed at enforcing the legal framework governing the issuing of lawful invoices and receipts and the obligation to accept card payments. The checks are being carried out at all hours of the day and night, islandwide, with emphasis this period on businesses in coastal areas due to their higher seasonal economic activity. Tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides told Phileleftheros he was calling on the public to cooperate with Tax Department officers, and urged citizens to always ask businesses for a legal invoice or receipt for every transaction, saying this would actively help strengthen tax compliance. He said tax authorities were not aiming to shut businesses down, but to push taxpayers towards setting up repayment schedules for their outstanding debts. Beyond inspections targeting the issuing of receipts and other tax rules, the Tax Department will soon apply the premises-sealing measure to businesses with tax debts exceeding €20,000. A plan has already been drawn up, with officers expected to begin with 500 businesses in the betting, yacht sales and luxury vehicle sectors that owe more than €1 million in taxes. Read more: Here’s what changes under Cyprus’s new tax penalties Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Cross-party backing for Cyprus’s apartheid state Cyprus hunting season kicks off August 23 under new digital rules Christodoulides welcomes Guterres’s effort to restart Cyprus talks Guterres commits to fresh five-plus-one meeting after Cyprus visit Overnight pharmacies on Wednesday, July 29 20-year-old alleges threats, beatings in prison Guterres–Christodoulides–Erhürman meeting concludes ahead of press conference (watch live) Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.