ΠΕΡΙΓΡΑΦΗ

This seminar is about transactions related to real estate investments in Cyprus. In particular, in immovable property transactions, investors, buyers, sellers and other interested parties must be able to carry out relevant due diligence checks, decide on the terms under which they will transact, put safeguards in place and be contractually protected. Interested parties should also be able to assess the tax impact on their transactions and manage relevant taxation issues. This seminar is not to be missed. Board Members from KPMG Cyprus and KPMG Law in Cyprus will share their knowledge with the participants.

ΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΣΕΜΙΝΑΡΙΟΥ

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Recognise the current provisions of the laws regarding the sale and rental of real estate
• Identify tax matters that relate to immovable property in Cyprus
• Interpret the main indicators regarding the progress of the sector
• Provide tax analysis on different scenarios relating to immovable property transactions
• Apply good practices during negotiations for buying, selling and renting real estate
• Set contractual safeguards in their transactions
• Identify and resolve direct and indirect tax matters that may arise during an immovable property transaction in Cyprus
• Participate in discussions on real estate in Cyprus with other professionals in the same sector
• Refute arguments regarding the Legislative Framework concerning real estate in Cyprus
• Evaluate risks that may be triggered while carrying out an immovable property transaction both at a legal and tax level.

ΣΕ ΠΟΙΟΥΣ ΑΠΕΥΘΥΝΕΤΑΙ

The seminar is addressed to investors and investment funds, real estate professionals, in-house legal advisors, as well as financial managers and other professionals working in the internal legal departments of organisations operating or investing in the real estate sector.

ΠΕΡΙΣΣΟΤΕΡΕΣ ΠΛΗΡΟΦΟΡΙΕΣ

Agenda

1. The real estate sector in Cyprus (1 hour)

• The significance of the sector in the economy
• Key indicators of the sector and historical data
• Overview of the real estate sector by district 
• Key trends and updates of the sector

2. Due Diligence on Immovable Property (15 minutes)

3. Buying and Selling of Immovable Property (1 hour)

Contract Preparation Stage

• Important terms in contractual documents
• Pre-Contractual Arrangements
• Sales Contract
• Assignments
• Stamp Duty Application

Acquisition of Immovable Property by aliens

• Legislation
• Procedure

Charges and Encumbrances

• Registration of Charges and Encumbrances
• Mortgages and Μemo
• Encumbrances and Rights
• Discharge of Charges

Transfer of Immovable Property

• Transfer of share of property
• Valuation of the Immovable Property by the Land Registry
• Clearance Certificates
• Land Registry returns
• Authorisations

4. Leasing of Immovable Property (1 hour)

Agreement Preparation Stage

• Lease Agreement
• Sublease Agreement
• Long-Term Lease Agreement
• License to use
• Guarantees

Rent Control

• Statutory Tenancies - Criteria
• The Rent Control Law
• Jurisdiction
• Recovery of Possession

Rentals on the Free Market – outside of Rent Control

• The Contract Law
• Recovery of Possession
• Rent Increase

5. Direct Tax (1 hour and 15 minutes)

• Rental income
• Capital Gains Tax or Income Tax
• Transfer fees
• Stamp Duty
• The Central Agency for the Equal Weight Sharing of Burdens (0,40% Levy)
• Capital Allowances
• Disposal of immovable property and Special Defence Contribution (Deemed Dividend Distribution)

6. VAT matters to consider in the real estate industry (2 hours)

Introduction

• Taxable transactions

Important amendment in the VAT Legislation regarding the supply of buildings

• Application up to 10 November 2022
• Changes as of 10 November 2022

Rentals

• Analysis of the VAT legislation regarding the rental of immovable property
• Hiring of space Vs Rental
• Register for self-service establishments

Reduced VAT rate on the supply or construction of a new dwelling

• Analysis of legislation as of 15 June 2023
• Analysis of new legislation as of 16 June 2023 including the transitional measures.

Trainers

Georgiou Panayiota
Board Member, KPMG Law in Cyprus, Theodorides, Georgiou, Iacovou & Co LLC

Panayiota is a member of the Board of Directors of KPMG Law in Cyprus and has been with KPMG in Cyprus for more than 13 years. She holds an LL.B (Hons) and an LL.M in Commercial Law from the University of Cardiff in Wales. She was also admitted to the Cyprus Bar Association in 2008.

As a business lawyer, Panayiota has significant experience on local and cross border assignments in M&A, commercial, corporate finance, restructuring and insolvency law. She is a certified insolvency practitioner, a qualification which enables her to understand how distressed companies evolve and advise key stakeholders. In combination with her acute understanding of how corporations work, this allows her to carry out complex group reduction and legal entity rationalisation exercises, irrespective of insolvency. She also has long-standing experience on managing and coordinating M&A projects from the early stages until completion and monitoring of post-closing obligations. She is an accredited compliance professional and organises assignments pertaining to the application of regulatory and compliance requirements.

Panayiota is a member of the Association for European Restructuring and Insolvency Specialists, as well as of the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Professionals.  She also served as a special advising member to the Insolvency Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) on legal matters. 

Katerina Papanicolaou Charalambous
Board Member, Direct Tax Services, KPMG in Cyprus

Katerina graduated with a bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Economics from the University of East Anglia in the UK. She is a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and an ADIT graduate. Additionally, she is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC), a member of ICPAC’s Tax Compliance Committee and a certified “Trainer of Vocational Training” by the HRDA.

Katerina joined KPMG in Cyprus in 1995, where she worked in the Audit department prior to moving to Tax Services. Her portfolio of clients consists of companies listed in the Cyprus Stock Exchange as well as medium and large companies, both local and international.

Katerina possesses experience in the Banking, Investment, Real Estate, Insurance and Retail sectors. She is experienced in direct tax compliance services and actively participates in assisting clients during their tax examination by the Tax department in Cyprus, for identifying and settling their tax liabilities.

Michael Grekas
Board Member, Indirect Tax Services, KPMG in Cyprus
 

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

Furthermore, 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. He has been involved in various projects concerning VAT automation solutions and has assisted in the VAT coding design and implementation. He also leads the Tax Technology Development team in KPMG Cyprus and is a Member of the VAT committee of ICPAC (Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus).

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

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. He 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 Four 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 has worked in 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 “Trainer of Vocational Training”. 

Maria Anayiotou
Principal, KPMG in Cyprus

Maria studied Business Organisation and Administration at the University of Piraeus, with specialisation in Accounting and Finance. In December 2000, she joined KPMG in 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). She has provided audit services to several large local and overseas enterprises across a number of industries such as real estate, education and retail.

Maria 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.

Furthermore, she has attended various international training sessions organised by KPMG’s Tax Business School as well as a number of local seminars. She has also presented numerous in-house audit seminars and facilitated various both in-house and open Indirect Tax seminars. In 2017 she was certified by the HRDA as a “Trainer of Vocational Training”.

Marios Kapnisis
Senior Manager, Deal Advisory, KPMG in Cyprus

Marios is a Senior Manager in the Deal Advisory department of KPMG Cyprus, specialising in the real estate sector. He has extensive experience in the field, both in Cyprus and abroad. Before joining KPMG Cyprus, he worked for the government in the United Kingdom, specifically in a Valuation Office Agency, which was a specialised department of HMRC focusing on the real estate sector.

He provides professional services related to real estate to large multinational companies, banking institutions, individuals, government entities, and organisations. Additionally, he has written many articles on various topics within the real estate sector, served as a trainer in various presentations and seminars and is responsible for various publications of KPMG Cyprus related to the real estate industry.