ΠΕΡΙΓΡΑΦΗ

Register now for this unique seminar and be educated on important VAT compliance issues, which may concern employees of the Financial Institutions (regulated by the Central Bank of Cyprus) or companies involved in the cryptocurrency trading. A Board Member and his team, experts on VAT issues, will analyse and elaborate on relevant sections of the current VAT Act. They will pay special attention to the provisions of Part B of Schedule 7 of the Cyprus VAT Act and the respective provisions of the EU VAT Directive.

Additionally, the trainers will examine all sources of revenue and expenses, which are likely to expose Financial Institutions’ as well as the Banks’ and Cooperative Credit Institutions’ entitlement to an input VAT deduction.

CPD: This seminar may contribute to Continuing Professional Development requirements. At the end of the seminar participants will be given a certificate of attendance confirming the total number of training hours (7 CPD).

ΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΣΕΜΙΝΑΡΙΟΥ

By the end of the seminar participants will be able to:

• list the supplies which are subject to exemptions and they are included in the Schedule 7 of the VAT Act
• explain the VAT and VIES registration obligations
• describe financial services (including cryptocurrencies) provided by financial institutions and the applicable VAT
• explain the place of supply (taxation) rules according to the provisions of the VAT Act in conjunction with the reverse charge procedure
• address specific issues regarding financial services exemptions
• use practical examples in order to explain the VAT treatment of specific services
• adopt a more conservative approach on the way assessing the VAT treatment for exemptions
• support the correct application of the exemptions in their daily transactions.

ΣΕ ΠΟΙΟΥΣ ΑΠΕΥΘΥΝΕΤΑΙ

This training is addressed to CFOs, financial managers, chief accountants, accountants, assistant accountants and professionals responsible for financial matters and/or the VAT treatment of the company.

ΠΕΡΙΣΣΟΤΕΡΕΣ ΠΛΗΡΟΦΟΡΙΕΣ

Agenda

1. Basic VAT concepts and obligations (2 hrs)

• Basic VAT concepts concerning financial services
• Cyprus VAT registration obligations
• VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) obligations
• Corrections of errors and omissions regarding submitted VAT returns

2. Financial services exemptions and services provided by financial institutions (2 hrs)

• Specific issues regarding financial services exemptions
• Financial and other services provided by financial institutions
• Cryptocurrencies

                        > In which category of the exemptions does the cryptocurrency fall?

                        > What is their VAT treatment?

                        > View of the EU VAT Committee on cryptocurrencies

3. Place of supply of services rules (30 min)

• Basic Business to Business (B2B) rule
• Special B2B rules
• Basic Business to Consumer (B2C) rule
• Special B2C rules

4. Reverse Charge procedure (30 min)

• Steps to follow
• The way a company should apply the reverse charge procedure
• Time of supply rules

5. Input VAT recovery issues (30 min)

• Restricted input VAT – VAT that can never be deducted as credit
• Revenues giving right to input VAT recovery
• Mixture of revenues with and without the right to deduct input VAT
• Standard method of apportionment
• Some of the common special methods of apportionment

6. Various examples and ECJ (European Court of Justice) cases (1 hr & 30 min)

• Working numerical examples
• Recent ECJ cases relevant to financial services and/or cryptocurrencies
• Practical examples related to the analysation of the VAT treatment on financial services
• Practical examples for taxable persons involved in financial services with part right of deduction of input VAT

Trainers

Grekas Michael (Board Member, Indirect Tax services, KPMG in Cyprus)

Michael is a Board Member and leads the Indirect Tax function at KPMG in Cyprus. Michael has extensive experience in Cypriot and European VAT legislation, EU VAT matters and decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

He has provided professional services to several large both multinational and local enterprises of various sectors, focusing on the financial services and real estate industries. In addition, Michael has provided indirect tax advisory services to several financial and payment institutions, Cypriot investment firms, UCITS, AIFs and real estate companies.

He is also a Member of the VAT committee of ICPAC (Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus). Michael was involved in various projects concerning VAT automation solutions and assists in the VAT coding design and implementation. He also leads the Tax Technology development team of KPMG in Cyprus.

Michael is the instructor in various KPMG training courses and the author of indirect tax articles. In 2015, he was certified by the HRDA as a “Trainer of Vocational Training”.

Maria Anayiotou (Principal, Indirect Tax services, KPMG in Cyprus)

Maria studied Business Organisation and Administration at the University of Piraeus, with specialisation in Accounting and Finance. In December 2000, Maria joined KPMG Cyprus, starting as a trainee auditor in the Audit department. She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC). Maria has provided audit services to several large local and overseas enterprises across a number of industries such as real estate, education and retail.

She joined the Indirect Tax department in May 2010 and since then she has provided indirect tax services to a major portfolio of clients, including entities and groups involved in tourism, passenger and freight transport, security, financial services, real estate development, the supply of goods and services.

Maria attended various international training sessions organised by KPMG’s Tax Business School as well as a number of local seminars. Additionally, she has been a presenter of numerous in-house audit seminars and an instructor/facilitator of various both in-house and open Indirect Tax seminars. In April 2017, Maria was certified by the HRDA as a “Trainer of Vocational Training”.

Georgiou Phanos (Principal, Indirect Tax department, KPMG Cyprus)

Phanos is a Principal in the Indirect Tax department of KPMG in Cyprus. He possesses extensive experience in Cypriot and European VAT legislation.

Phanos provides professional services to several large multinational and local enterprises in various industry sectors since 2011, with a focus on financial services, real estate, restaurant and tourism industries.

He was also involved in various projects concerning VAT automation solutions and assists in software VAT coding design and implementation. Furthermore, Phanos provided consulting services to large corporate groups established in the United Arab Emirates in view of the VAT implementation back in 2018.

In addition, he has been a presenter in various VAT training courses to clients and the professional staff of KPMG in Cyprus.

Alexis Hadjikleovoulou (Senior Manager, Indirect Tax Services, KPMG in Cyprus)

Alexis holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Cyprus and ACCA and ADIT certifications with specialisation in EU VAT. Alexis is also accredited with the VAT Compliance Diploma (UK syllabus) from The Association of Taxation of Technicians.

From 2011 to 2014, he worked at a Big-4 firm in the Indirect Tax department, where he gained experience in providing VAT advisory services to multinational companies. Since joining KPMG Cyprus in 2015, Alexis works at the Indirect Tax department in Limassol, providing VAT advisory services to major portfolio clients of the shipping, financing, real estate and e-commerce sectors, as well as to clients involved in international trades.

Additionally, Alexis has been an instructor/facilitator for both in-house and open Indirect Tax related seminars. In 2020 he was certified by the HRDA as a Vocational Training Instructor.