The Department of Labour Relations, Social Policy & Human Resources Development of the CCCI wishes to inform you that based on the data of the Ministry of Finance, excluding the impact of the increase in consumption taxes, the average Consumer Price Index in 2023 amounted to 111,38 units, compared to 107.45 units in the previous year, meaning an increase of 3.66%.
Based on the transitional agreement of 12/5/2023 for the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), the Allowance amounts to 66.7% of the annual increase of the Consumer Price Index, provided that during the second and third quarter of the previous year, there isa positive growth rate. In the second and third quarters of 2023, the growth rate was positive at 2.2% respectively.

Based on the above and given that in the existing agreement there is a clear commitment that in the absence of any new agreement, the current regime for payment of 66.7% continues, once a year, the increase of the Cost of Living (COLA), for those companies that grant it, amounts to 2.44% on basic salaries as 1/1/2024. Therefore, the total Cost of Living Allowance increases from 8.52% to 11.17% on the basic salaries.

Below is the circular of the Ministry of Finance for your information.

PDF – Engiklios ATA JAN 2024

Ε (109) • Έξοδα τα οποία περιλαμβάνονται στο Διατακτικό Παράδοσης

Within the framework of the cooperation between ΕΕΝ Cyprus and the Trade Service, with the common goal of continuously promoting and strengthening the export levels of Cyprus, we would like to inform you that the Export Helpdesk of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, invites expressions of interest for finding importers abroad.
The invitation is addressed to Cypriot businesses wishing to export Cypriot products and services to countries covered by the MECI Trade Centers for 2024. 

nterested parties can complete and send the APPLICATION to the Export Helpdesk for finding importers in the countries covered by the Trade Centers for 2024 at the following email addresses: epitsillidou@meci.gov.cy, keleftheriadou@meci.gov.cy until 31/01/2024.

Applications for India, Russia, China and UAE, please complete the English form.
Additionally, as advised by the Commercial Counselor in China, applications should be accompanied by a business profile and information about products and services in Chinese to enable promotion in that country.
For more information, you can visit the MECI websites, HERE and HERE, which contain details of the EHD and the countries covered by the Trade Centers.

PDF Circular – Invitation from the Export Helpdesk to find importers abroad

We would like to inform you that the Customs Department has issued a Circular ΕΕ- ‘EZ’ (7) dated December 28, 2023, notifying that the use of a printed application for the issuance of licenses to operate in the Larnaca Free Zone is abolished. This decision comes as the Larnaca Free Zone (Type II control) has been abolished since 2011 through the Revocation Decree – ΚΔΠ 230/2011.
Furthermore, businesses interested in conducting legal activities in the Republic of Cyprus, depending on their operational status, can obtain information:

a) from the website of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, and Industry if the specific industrial area operates under the responsibility of the Ministry, or
b) from the website of the Customs Department, if the business holds licenses for one or both of the following regimes:

1. Customs warehousing
2. Refinement for re-export

Find more information in the circular PDF below.

Circular PDF – Conducting Business Activities in a Free Zone

• ΔΠΟ (94) – Αυτόνομες ενωσιακές δασμολογικές ποσοστώσεις για ορισμένα γεωργικά και βιομηχανικά προϊόντα
• ΔΑΝ (29) – Αναστολή των δασμών του κοινού δασμολογίου για ορισμένα γεωργικά και βιομηχανικά προϊόντα
• «ΕΖ» (7) – Άσκηση επιχειρηματικής δραστηριότητας σε Ελεύθερη Ζώνη – Κατάργηση εγκυκλίου ΕΕ – «ΕΖ» (3)