A package of seven bills aimed at meeting a key milestone under Cyprus’ Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) has been submitted to parliament, as authorities seek to unlock the seventh instalment of EU funding.
At the same time, a separate bill and accompanying regulations on landfill taxes for municipal waste were tabled in order to complete outstanding requirements for the sixth payment.
The legislative package targets milestone 198 of Reform 4 of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, titled “Digital system for data exchange and the provision of creditworthiness assessment services.” The milestone forms part of Cyprus’ request for the seventh grant instalment from the European Union, the evaluation of which is expected to be completed by the end of April 2026.
Digital creditworthiness system
According to the explanatory report submitted with the legislation, the reform aims to create a credit scoring system that reflects the full borrowing profile and behaviour of borrowers across all credit institutions and credit-acquiring companies.
The objective is to strengthen financial stability by enabling a more comprehensive evaluation of creditworthiness.
The milestone requires approval of the legislative package by parliament as well as the issuance of a directive by the Central Bank of Cyprus.
The proposed legislation also establishes the legal framework enabling the Central Bank to exercise powers of access, supervision, monitoring and sanctions, as well as the authority to issue guidelines related to the data-exchange mechanism.
Under the amendments, provisions are introduced allowing the creditworthiness scoring process to be carried out through the “Artemis” data collection system.
The Central Bank will also have the authority, through directives, to determine the procedure for imposing or revising fees related to the operation of the Artemis data collection mechanism and to define their level and calculation method.
Seven banking-related bills
The legislative package includes the following bills:
• Credit Institutions Operations (Amendment) Law of 2026
• Sale of Credit Facilities and Related Matters (Amendment) Law of 2026
• Consumer Credit Agreements (Amendment) Law of 2026
• Credit Agreements for Consumers Relating to Residential Immovable Property (Amendment) Law of 2026
• Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers and Related Matters (Amendment) Law of 2026
• Securitisation (Amendment) Law of 2026
• Financial Leasing (Amendment) Law of 2026
Landfill tax regulations
In parallel, regulations introducing a landfill tax on municipal waste were also submitted to parliament.
The landfill tax is one of the outstanding milestones required for the disbursement of the sixth instalment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
According to the regulations, the tax will be imposed as follows:
• Until 31 December 2027, a rate of €10 per tonne of municipal waste disposed of in landfill sites.
• From 1 January 2028, the rate will increase by €5 per tonne each year, up to a maximum of €70 per tonne.
The operator of each municipal waste landfill site will calculate and impose the tax within 60 days of the waste being disposed of.
Collection and payment obligations
The landfill operator is responsible for calculating, determining and collecting the landfill tax. The tax is charged for every tonne of municipal waste disposed of at landfill facilities.
Waste holders must pay the tax to the landfill operator no later than 60 days after the date it is imposed.
Failure to pay within the deadline will result in a penalty equal to five percent of the outstanding tax for each day of delay.
Landfill operators are also required to maintain a daily register recording landfill tax transactions.
Offences and penalties
Any waste holder or landfill operator who breaches obligations under the regulations, either directly or through an employee, agent or representative, commits a criminal offence.
Upon conviction, offenders may face imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to €20,000, or both.
Anyone who intentionally or through gross negligence submits false, inaccurate or misleading information related to obligations under the regulations may face imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to €200,000, or both.
EU funding disbursement
Separately, the European Commission on Thursday disbursed €21.2 million in grants to Cyprus as the fifth payment under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).