Thousands face jail over unpaid VAT and social insurance

THOUSANDS of Cypriots who are unable to settle their dues with the social insurance and VAT services, risk imprisonment, officials of both organisations said on Wednesday.

Speaking on CyBC television’s morning show, the two officials said that due to the economic crisis people cannot pay their contributions but that imprisonment is the last resort only after all other means have been exhausted.

The head of Social Insurance Department, Theofanis Tryfonos, said that from the beginning of the year, 20 people have been imprisoned for not settling their accounts.

“Thousands in the last few years have trouble meeting their obligations and each year several thousand cases are brought before courts,” he said.

“Since 2014 we had 25 sentences, most of them on a three-year suspension, in 2015 we have so far had two suspended sentences,” said Anna Papantoniou, senior officer at the VAT service.

The head of the union of small businesses and self-employed individuals (SYMEA) Stavros Alambritis, said that thousands of their members who were unprepared for the economic crisis have been sued by social insurance and VAT over unpaid dues.

In 2013, legal procedures had been suspended due to the economic crisis.