Filenews 24 October 2021 - by Eleftheria Paizanos
From one to seven working days are required today for the processing of applications for the registration of a company in Cyprus. The coronavirus pandemic and the restrictive measures have strengthened the electronic services of the Department of the Registrar of Companies, resulting in an improvement in its performance. According to a note by the Minister of Energy Natasa Pilidou, on the occasion of the discussion of the budget of her ministry in parliament the day before yesterday, the processing time of the relevant applications has been significantly reduced. At the same time, data are given on the time required for the registration of companies, for the change of data and for the issuance of various certificates.
Specifically, for the examination of the company registration application, with the payment of an expedited fee, it takes from 24 hours to two working days. If the application is submitted electronically, it is examined in one day and if it is submitted to the department's cashier it takes a maximum of two days.
Without the payment of an expedited fee, the company registration application is reviewed within seven working days, regardless of whether the interested party submitted an application online or at the department's cashier. As far as applications for the change of company data are concerned, when they are submitted electronically and with the payment of an expedited fee, they are processed within 24 hours, while without the acceleration two working days are required.
When the relevant applications are submitted to the fund, with the expedited fee, it takes three days, while without acceleration it takes seven working days. According to the Ministry of Energy, within 24 hours, applications are also processed in relation to the name of the company, whether they are submitted electronically or to the fund, after the relevant expedited fee has been paid.
In addition, certified copies are issued on the same day.
Full digital transition
The Department of The Registrar of Companies in the coming years aims at a complete digital transition, so as to become more efficient, fast and modern, with the aim of making the country a competitive centre of service provision for companies. In recent years, the department has carried out digital, operational and technological reforms.
In detail, in relation to the technological reform, in November 2015 the creation of a complete electronic register in the Companies Sector was completed, with the digitization of the physical files of 295,000 (16 million pages) of registered entities in the Register of Companies, which are fully accessible through the online survey (eSearch) on the department's website. At the same time, the Electronic Register of Trademarks and Industrial Designs was completed in the Intellectual Property Sector with the digitization of the physical files of 57,000 Trademarks and 600 Industrial Designs.
The changes made
In 2022, the installation and operation of an integrated registry management platform in the Companies and Intellectual Property Sectors is expected to proceed. The project, which is included in the National Recovery Plan, is expected to cost around €14 million. At the same time, new customer-centric websites were created for the two branches of the department (in Greek and English), with the aim of providing step by step information and support to users during the life cycle of a business entity or intellectual property right and creating new communication channels with the business world.
In relation to the modernization of the legislative framework, in recent years many changes have been made, which have contributed to the simplification and rationalization of the registration process of companies and the strengthening of the executive powers of the Registrar. They also ensure the timely updating of the Register of registered organisations and the deletion of non-compliant companies. At the operational level, the redesign of 100 business processes (50 for each sector) has been completed with the aim of optimally utilizing human resources and reducing administrative costs.
Finally, the Department of the Registrar of Companies promotes the pilot application of the electronic seal in the certificates issued, as well as the use of the listed electronic signature in the accompanying documents submitted through e-filing and in some documents (e.g. company's articles of association) that do not require the submission of an established form.
