5 Aralık 2018 Çarşamba

FALLING FUEL PRICES COULD DROP FURTHER

zaman: Aralık 05, 2018 Etiketler: News

Cyprus Mail - article by Lizzy Ioannidou 5 December 2018

A bill seeing a reduction in fuel prices by five cents is due to be submitted to parliament by Diko before Christmas, boosting the decrease seen in the retail price of fuel in November.

The price of 95 octane petrol decreased in November by €0.072 per litre compared to the previous month, with the average price being at €1.247 per litre, the association said.

The price of diesel also fell by €0.048 per litre compared to October, selling for €1.332 per litre.
From November’s reductions in price on the two types of fuel consumers saved a total of €132,628, the Consumers Association said on Monday.

A price decrease was also seen in heating oil in November, which fell by €25 per thousand litres compared to October, as its average price on November 1 was €979 per thousand litres, with the price falling to €954 by the end of the month.

Despite price decreases for November, prices are still much higher than January this year when the average of heating oil was €825 per thousand litres.

The association highlighted the large number of residents of the Republic who travel to the north to buy fuel, noting that between January and October this year 12,538,017 litres of 95 fuel and 14,075,756 litres of diesel were bought from the north.

Petrol stations in the south recorded revenue losses of €1,463,758, which also brought about a loss of revenue for the state (via taxes and VAT) of €19,168,330, the association added.

Prices are expected to fall by an additional five cents if parliament approves a bill seeking to reduce consumption tax on fuel, proposed by Diko last month.

The bill, a part of a more extensive social package agreed by Diko chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos with the government and ruling Disy, is currently under review by the finance ministry, Diko spokesman Athos Antoniades told the Cyprus Mail on Tuesday, and is expected to be placed before parliament in December.

The social package agreed is expected to cost some €100m and involves an in-crease of €50 to low pensions, a five-cent cut in fuel tax and heating fuel subsidies for people living in higher areas.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades, who took part in a meeting in November with Papadopoulos, Disy leader Averof Neophytou and Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou on Tuesday said he disagreed with the reduction in fuel tax.

Georgiades said he thought cutting the tax on bank deposit interest would be a better move.

NEW WEBPAGE ALLOWS BANK CUSTOMERS TO COMPARE CHARGES

zaman: Aralık 05, 2018 Etiketler: General Information

Cyprus Mail - article by Kristian Chrysostomou 5 December 2018

The finance ministry on Wednesday officially launched its new webpage where the public can compare bank charges relating to current accounts and other services, in line with a 2014 EU directive.

The site has been online for some time and so far has been visited 7,000 times, mostly from Cyprus (92 per cent), the finance ministry said.

Charges shown on the website will be updated at regular intervals whenever they are reviewed by banks, the ministry said.

The page (in Greek) includes comparisons for banking services such as credit and debit cards, issuing cheque books, cash transfers, standing orders and overdrafts.

Alpha Bank for example charges €3.50 for a copy of an account statement, Hellenic, Bank of Cyprus, and Ancoria Bank charge €3.40, while RCB charges €4. The National Bank of Greece charges €4 per month and USB €3 per page.

Bank of Cyprus charges the most for a 50-page cheque book, €25, followed by Hellenic at €20. The National Bank of Greece charges €16, Ancoria, €15, and Alpha and Astro €14. USB bank charges €12, Eurobank €8, while the first cheque book is free at RCB and each one after that costs €10.

“The comparison site is an effective means for consumers to evaluate bank charges through the provision of clear, comprehensive information, while contributing to the increase of transparency,” the ministry said.

The page can also help in reducing cost for consumers who won’t have to collect the information from each bank separately.

The website will be able to accommodate clients that use local as well as international banks and was designed and developed by the ministry of finance in cooperation with the central bank of Cyprus.

The website can be found at www.mof.gov.cy/feecomparison

For more information, one can call 22601273 or 20601172 or email freecomparisonwebsite@mof.gov.cy.

CABINET APPROVES BILL ON HIGHER ROAD TAX TO REDUCE EMISSIONS

zaman: Aralık 05, 2018 Etiketler: News

in-cyprus - 5 December 2018 - Edited by Stelios Marathovouniotis

Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new bill that raises road tax for cars that pollute the environment.

The new road tax system does not apply to already registered vehicles but to new or second hand cars which will be registered after the bill is approved by the House.

Under the current system, the Road Department charged a higher road tax for cars with high Co2 emissions. The new system will include other polluters such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), fine particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOC),

The changes concern vehicles belonging to categories M1 and N1, ie. saloon vehicles for up to eight passengers addition to the driver and commercial vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes.

The older the vehicle and the larger its engine capacity, the higher the road tax. Conversely, owners of ‘cleaner’ vehicles will be charged less.

Road tax for larger vehicle categories will be calculated on the basis of the levels of pollutants from emissions, the engine category and the vehicle’s age. That is, the owner will be required to pay an additional tax along with the annual road tax, ranging from zero to €400 per year, on the basis of the vehicle’s engine category (Euro 3, Euro 4, Euro 5, or Euro 6).

The new pollutant calculation method, which is binding for EU countries, increases charges.

For example, existing pollutants in a car’s emissions which had been calculated at 15% on the basis of the previous calculation system, will now amount to more than 30%.

Under the proposal the consumer tax will be scrapped on the import and registration of vehicles which had distorted the market as this tax was imposed only on new vehicles, leading to a loss of €10m in state revenue.

This will be recouped from the higher road tax on polluting cars. The Ministry of Finance is eager to pass the law in order to maintain existing annual revenues from vehicle taxes and charges and also to reduce polluting emission in order to avoid EU penalties.

Incentives for disposing old cars

The bill contains incentives for people to dispose their old, highly-polluting cars.

Specifically, people who dispose M1 or N1 cars over 15 years old and buy a new energy saving and anti-polluting car will not have to pay road tax for five years.

Link to article so you can see the tables included in the article:

https://in-cyprus.com/news/local/cabinet-to-decide-on-higher-road-tax-to-reduce-emissions/

THREE WANTED FOR PAPHOS BREAK-IN

zaman: Aralık 05, 2018 Etiketler: Security

in-cyprus - 5 December 2018 - Edited by Stelios Marathovouniotis

Police are looking for three men in connection with a robbery case in Paphos that took place on November 22.

Anyone with any information is asked to contacted Paphos CID on 26806049, or the closest police station or the citizen’s help line on 1460 or through Cyprus’ police app.

4 Aralık 2018 Salı

BRITAIN'S BIG BREXIT VOTE - WHAT HAPPENS IN PARLIAMENT?

zaman: Aralık 04, 2018 Etiketler: General Information

in-cyprus - 4 December 2018 - Edited by Bouli Hadjioannou

Prime Minister Theresa May must win a vote in parliament on Dec. 11 to get her Brexit deal approved or risk seeing Britain’s exit from the European Union descend into chaos less than four months before it is due to leave.

To try to get that approval, May and her ministers will spend five days debating the issue in parliament, where they will have to overcome opposition from across the political spectrum, and defeat attempts to alter or delay her Brexit process or derail it altogether.

Here’s how the voting will work:

WHO?

The debate is taking place in the lower house of parliament, the House of Commons. May does not have an outright majority of the 650 lawmakers, and the DUP, the small Northern Irish party that usually props up her government, is opposed to the deal.

WHEN?

The debate is scheduled for Dec. 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11. Each day’s debate will last up to eight hours, with start and finish times likely to vary.

On the final day, there will be a series of votes: first, to approve or reject up to six amendments to the government’s motion, and then to approve or reject the motion. Voting is due to start at 7 p.m. (1900 GMT).

WHAT?

The debate will be on whether to approve a motion stating that parliament has approved the Withdrawal Agreement – a legal text setting out the terms of departure – and a separate political declaration outlining the long-term relationship Britain will have with the EU.

WHAT ARE AMENDMENTS?

Lawmakers are able to put forward amendments to this motion. John Bercow, the Speaker of the House, chooses no more than six of these on the final day, and they will be voted on unless the proposers opt to withdraw them.

By Tuesday, six amendments had been submitted for Bercow to consider.

If approved, an amendment would be included in the wording of the final motion. While any successful amendments would not bind the government to comply with them, they would be politically hard to ignore, and could dictate May’s next steps.

Ministers have expressed concerns that if any amendment is passed by parliament, it could prevent the deal being ratified because the final vote may not then provide the legally necessary clear and unequivocal approval of May’s deal.

The amendments will be voted on before the deciding ballot on whether to approve the overall motion – meaning May has to win a series of votes, rather than just one, each with the potential to scupper her plan.

WHAT ARE THE AMENDMENTS?

The opposition Labour Party has submitted an amendment designed to ensure that the government cannot leave the EU without an exit agreement and must consider all alternatives to doing so.

A cross-party group of lawmakers have also submitted a similar amendment, blocking May’s deal and ruling out a “no-deal” Brexit, and then giving parliament a greater say over what happens next.

Several lawmakers have submitted separate amendments requiring the government to rethink the arrangements around the so-called ‘backstop’ on Northern Ireland, designed to prevent the installation of border infrastructure on the land frontier with Ireland – a so-called “hard border”. One demands that the government instead seek a trade deal with the EU modelled on the deal that the EU has with Canada.

HOW WILL THE RESULT BE ANNOUNCED?

Once the debate is finished, the speaker will typically ask those in favour of each amendment to shout “aye”, and then those against to say “no”. As long as some lawmakers shout “no”, the speaker will call a formal vote, known as a division.

Votes are registered by lawmakers walking through different doorways, out of sight of television cameras and onlookers. Once the headcount is complete – which can take up to 15 minutes – lawmakers return to the debating chamber.

Four appointed tellers will assemble in front of the speaker, and one will read the result out loud.

Once all the amendments have been voted upon, the main motion is put to a vote using the same process.

WHAT HAPPENS IF SHE LOSES?

By law, if the deal is rejected, ministers have 21 days to state how they intend to proceed. The government has previously said that if the agreement is rejected, Britain will leave the EU without a deal.

The reality is that the huge uncertainty in the world’s fifth largest economy and the likely adverse reaction of financial markets would demand a much quicker political reaction.

(Reuters)

RESCUE DOG STARS IN PET AWARENESS VIDEOS

zaman: Aralık 04, 2018 Etiketler: News

Cyprus Mail - article by Evie Andreou 4 December 2018

The agriculture ministry has released a series of short videos, starring Kleija, a rescue dog, to raise awareness on animal abuse and the importance of neutering and spaying.

In the short videos, popular Cypriot actors talk of pet abandonment, dog abuse and the importance of neutering and spaying. The videos, currently available online, will be aired on television within the month, the agriculture ministry said.

Actor Fotis Georgides, urges viewers not to introduce a dog in their lives if they think they can get rid of it whenever they want. “Pets don’t come with (shop) return cards,” he said.

In another video clip, Antonis Katsaris, Zoe Kyprianou, and Sotos Stavrakis, explain that keeping a dog on a balcony, roof, locked up in a cage, tied to a chain and without human companionship is an abuse.

Marileni Stavrou explains the importance of neutering and spaying of pets, by arguing that female dogs and their offspring may produce up to 512 puppies in three years. “Do you know 512 people who can adopt a puppy?” she asked, adding that shelters in Cyprus have more dogs they can care for.

The star of the videos is Kleija, a rescue dog that was adopted from a shelter.

The video clips can be found at www.petswelfarecy.com, a website launched by the agriculture ministry to provide advice to members of the public on how to care for their pet dogs and cats and what to do in cases of emergency (Greek only). To view videos, click on the three arrows under the main-page title.

BUS DRIVERS IN PAPHOS & LIMASSOL CALL OFF STRIKE

zaman: Aralık 04, 2018 Etiketler: News

Cyprus Mail - article by Lizzie Ioannidou 4 December 2018

Public transport is set to return to normal on Wednesday after Paphos bus company Osypa employees agreed on Tuesday to join those from Limassol in calling off strike measures after receiving government promises that a solution to the company’s problems will be found within the next two days.

As a sign of good will, the around 120 striking Osypa employees will return to work on Wednesday morning, 48 hours after their strike started, Osypa’s Christos Evangelou told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

Evangelou added that if a solution is not found in the next 48 hours, Osypa employees would resume their strike measures.

Earlier in the day, Osypa was clear it would not give any ground unless employees were paid their November salary, and received guarantees that their December and 13th salaries will be paid.

Some 5,000 pupils and 3,500 passengers are affected daily by the Paphos strike.

Employees of Limassol bus company Emel will also return to work on Wednesday, joining Larnaca’s Zenon employees who called off strike measures slated for Tuesday.

Emel workers and unions decided during a general assembly on Tuesday morning to give one more chance to the ongoing dialogue between the company and the government regarding financial matters, and to postpone indefinite strike measures launched on Monday.

As promised by the company on Monday, when the government signed off on a financial contribution of around €800,000, Emel employees received their November salaries on Tuesday, CNA reported.

Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou called on all striking companies and employees on Monday to call off all strike measures to give way to talks, through which payments can be decided with companies.

The transport ministry announced on November 21 it would start to claim back money it overpaid in the past to all six public bus companies from December, cutting the monthly subsidies which the companies in turn use to pay their employees.

The bus companies claim that the ministry on the contrary owes money to them.

BREXIT - CUSTOMS, VAT & EXCISE REGULATIONS - Leaving the EU with no deal

zaman: Aralık 04, 2018 Etiketler: Brexit

Collection

Customs, VAT and Excise regulations: leaving the EU with no deal

This collection brings together regulations, explanatory memoranda, and an impact assessment in preparation for day 1, if the UK leaves the EU with no deal.

Published 27 November 2018
Last updated 4 December 2018 — see all updates

From:: HM Revenue & Customs; https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/customs-vat-and-excise-regulations-leaving-the-eu-with-no-deal?utm_source=150061da-db16-4179-809c-4c262fe4ae1f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate

Details

The Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on the future relationship between the UK and EU was endorsed by leaders at a special meeting of the European Council on 25 November. The government will lay these before Parliament ahead of the parliamentary debate and vote on the approval of these documents.

The Withdrawal Agreement sets out the terms of the UK’s smooth and orderly exit from the EU and the Political Declaration sets out the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

The government does not want or expect a no deal scenario. However, it is the duty of a responsible government to prepare for a range of potential outcomes, including the unlikely event of no deal. In the event of leaving the EU without a deal, legislation will be necessary to ensure the UK’s Customs, VAT and Excise regimes function as intended after the UK leaves the EU and so, on a contingency basis, HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs will lay a number of Statutory Instruments (SIs) under the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 (TCTA) and the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 (EUWA).

As these SIs are laid they, and any accompanying documentation, will be published on this page. This will include an impact assessment, draft notices and public notices that will be made before exit, under these SIs and the TCTA respectively. In addition to this, as two of the SIs incorporate a number of documents by reference, these documents are also listed and linked below, beneath the SI to which they relate.

This legislation is designed to broadly replicate the current EU legislation and minimise disruption of a no deal scenario on the UK’s international trade. To further support this there are step by step guides to importing and exporting which explain the steps that businesses can take to prepare for a no deal scenario.