Proposed Information Exchange Amendments

The government has published a draft law¹ which amends the Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law 1978² to facilitate the implementation of agreements for automatic exchange of information with other countries.

When enacted, the amending law will add Subsection 15 and Subsection 16 to Article 6 of the Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law. The new subsections regulate the arrangements under which the commissioner of tax may provide information obtained from any person to implement agreements for automatic exchange of information between Cyprus and other countries, whether EU member states or non-European Economic Area states.

The proposed provisions are similar to existing provisions that relate to information exchange, except in one important regard. Prior approval from the attorney general is required for information exchange under double tax agreements and existing legislation, but there is no requirement for prior approval under the new provisions.