The Stamp Duty Laws were repealed with effect from 1 January 2026. What that means for contracts signed before and after that date, and for deposits at the Land Registry.
What Was Repealed, and From When
The Stamp Duty Laws were repealed with effect from 1 January 2026 by the Stamp Duty (Repeal) Law of 2025, Law 239(I)/2025. The repeal is general. No category of document is excepted, and contracts for the sale of immovable property are covered like everything else.
For decades, stamping was one of the small mechanical steps that every Cyprus transaction had to pass through: the contract was signed, the duty was calculated on the consideration, the document was stamped, and only then did it move on to whatever came next. That step is now gone for documents first signed on or after 1 January 2026.
The Deposit of a Contract No Longer Involves Stamping
The change most people will actually feel is at the Department of Lands and Surveys. A buyer who deposits a contract of sale for specific performance protection no longer needs to have it stamped first.
It is worth being precise about why, because the point is often misstated. The Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law, Law 81(I)/2011, never listed stamping among its conditions. It requires registered title, a written signed contract, and deposit within the statutory deadline of six months from signing, and nothing more. The stamping requirement flowed in practice from the Stamp Duty Law itself, notably its rule that an unstamped document was inadmissible, read together with the general provisions of the Transfer and Mortgage of Immovable Property Law. From 1 January 2026 that footing is gone. A new contract is deposited as it is signed.
The repeal removes a step, not a safeguard: everything that made a contract worth depositing still has to be there.
What the Repeal Does Not Do
The repeal is not retroactive, and it is worth saying why, because Law 239(I)/2025 does not say so itself. It runs to two sections and carries no saving provision, so the general rule takes over: under section 10(2) of the Interpretation Law, Cap. 1, the repeal of an enactment does not affect a right, privilege, obligation or liability secured, derived or arising under it, unless a contrary intention appears. No contrary intention appears here. Duty that had already arisen on a document first signed by 31 December 2025 therefore remains payable under the old regime, and the same section preserves the proceedings for recovering it. A contract signed in 2025 does not become duty-free because the transfer, or the dispute, happens in 2026.
This matters most when reviewing an old chain of documents. In a resale of property held under an assignment, or in litigation over a contract from earlier years, whether the documents of that period were duly stamped remains a live question, because those documents stay under the regime that applied when they were signed.
What This Changes in Practice
For a purchase signed from 2026 onwards, the timetable simplifies: sign, then deposit within six months. The days that used to be consumed by calculating and paying duty before deposit are recovered, which matters when the deposit deadline is close.
For budgeting, one line item disappears from the completion costs of new transactions. Transfer fees, and VAT where it applies, remain what they were.
For anyone holding an unstamped document signed before 2026, the position has not improved by itself. Whether anything needs to be done about it depends on what the document is for and when it will be relied on, and that is worth a specific answer rather than a general one.
The repealing Law is two sections long
It is worth knowing how little there is to it. Law 239(I)/2025 was published in Official Gazette No. 5070 on Wednesday 31 December 2025, and it has a short title and one operative section. Section 2 reads, in its entirety, that the Stamp Duty Laws of 1963 to 2024 are repealed on 1 January 2026. The marginal note lists the repealed enactments, the earliest being Law 19 of 1963 and the last amendment Law 221(I)/2025.
There are no transitional provisions, no saving for documents already in existence, and no machinery for refunds. That absence is not an oversight to work around; it is what sends the question to the general law on the effect of a repeal.
If you are holding an unstamped document, or reviewing an old chain of them, tell us the date each was first signed at office@kleanthousplatis.com, or the enquiry form. We reply within one business day.
What fills the gap the repeal leaves
Section 10(2) of the Interpretation Law, Cap. 1, supplies the rule. Unless a contrary intention appears, the repeal of an enactment does not:
- revive anything not in force or not existing when the repeal takes effect;
- affect the previous operation of the repealed enactment, or anything duly done or suffered under it;
- affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under it;
- affect any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of an offence against it; or
- affect any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment.
The last limb adds that such an investigation, proceeding or remedy may be begun, continued or enforced, and such a penalty imposed, as if the repealing Law had not been passed.
Read against a stamp duty question that means the obvious things. Duty that had already accrued on a document executed before 1 January 2026 accrued under the old Law and is not cancelled by the repeal. Duty already paid was duly paid and does not become refundable. And anything already done under the repealed Laws, stamping included, remains done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the repealing Law say anything about old documents?
No. Law 239(I)/2025 has a short title and one operative section. Section 2 provides that the Stamp Duty Laws of 1963 to 2024 are repealed on 1 January 2026, and that is the whole of it: no transitional provisions, no saving for existing documents, and no refund machinery. The question is therefore answered by the general law on the effect of a repeal.
What is that general law?
Section 10(2) of the Interpretation Law, Cap. 1. Unless a contrary intention appears, a repeal does not revive anything not in force when it takes effect, does not affect the previous operation of the repealed enactment or anything duly done under it, and does not affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under it. Nor does it affect any investigation, proceeding or remedy in respect of those, which may be begun, continued or enforced as if the repealing Law had not been passed.
Is duty that accrued before 2026 wiped out?
No. A liability that accrued under the repealed Laws is a liability incurred under them, and section 10(2)(c) of Cap. 1 preserves it. Section 10(2)(e) preserves the remedy for it as well. The repeal removes the obligation going forward; it does not clear what had already arisen.
Can I claim back duty I already paid?
Nothing in Law 239(I)/2025 provides for a refund, and section 10(2)(b) of Cap. 1 preserves anything duly done under the repealed enactment. Duty properly paid before the repeal was properly paid. If you think it was not properly due in the first place, that is a different question and turns on the old Law rather than on the repeal.
I signed my contract in December 2025 but the transfer completes in 2026. Is duty payable?
Yes. Duty arose when the document was first signed. The repealing Law carries no saving provision, so section 10(2) of the Interpretation Law, Cap. 1 applies: a repeal does not affect a liability that had already arisen under the repealed Law. Duty that had arisen by 31 December 2025 stays payable.
Does the Land Registry still require a contract to be stamped before deposit?
Not for documents first signed on or after 1 January 2026. The conditions for deposit are those of the Specific Performance Law itself: registered title, a written signed contract, and deposit within six months of signing.
Does the repeal affect documents other than property contracts?
The repeal is general and excepts no category of document.
Related Reading
By Klitos Platis, Advocate. Klitos advises on litigation, corporate and commercial law, real estate, construction and energy at Kleanthous & Platis LLC in Nicosia.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and their application can change, and individual circumstances differ. For advice on your own matter, contact Klitos Platis at klitos@kleanthousplatis.com or telephone +357 22 680 330.
Klitos Platis
Advocate, Partner
Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Nicosia · Published 13 January 2026
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