Cyprus Tax Department withdraws 2017 guidance on administrative service providers

On September 17, 2026, the Cyprus Tax Department announced the immediate withdrawal and abolition of the 2017 guidance document titled “Cyprus Administrative Service Providers (ASPs) Are They FIs under FATCA and CRS”. Organizations are officially instructed to cease relying on this document for interpreting or applying their obligations under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Instead, the Tax Department mandates that entities must adhere to paragraph 10ter of the Consolidated Text of the CRS (2025) and the broader prevailing legislative and regulatory frameworks. Additionally, any references to the withdrawn guide within the May 2020 Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Guidance Notes are declared invalid. The Tax Department intends to update the 2020 notes to align with the revised CRS provisions.

To ensure regulatory compliance, the department warned that it reserves the right to conduct inspections and compliance checks. These measures are designed to verify that obligated organizations are correctly meeting their requirements under the CRS and DAC2 framework. Future updates to the guidance notes are expected to be issued to reflect the current legal requirements.