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European Accessibility Act: Cyprus
CY- Applies from
- 2025-06-28
- Maximum penalty
- No single fixed euro figure — see why.
- Enforcement authority
- Deputy Minister of Social Welfare (Υφυπουργός Κοινωνικής Πρόνοιας) — named competent authority (Art. 3(1)), who may delegate to officials within the Deputy Ministry (Art. 3(2)). The Council of Ministers separately designates other public-sector departments as accessibility oversight authorities to cooperate on market surveillance according to their staffing and subject-matter expertise (Art. 3(3)) — a coordinator-plus-sector-partners model. — https://www.gov.cy/dmsw/en/
- Microenterprise exemption
- Yes — under the EAA's EU-wide microenterprise exemption for services
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- National law
- Ο περί της Προσβασιμότητας Προϊόντων και Υπηρεσιών Νόμος του 2024, Ν. 57(Ι)/2024
- Notes
- Two independent tracks, both confirmed verbatim from the official Government Gazette text (Art. 36-39). Administrative: up to €10,000 for a first violation, up to €20,000 for a subsequent one, plus up to €500 for every additional day a violation continues uncorrected — this daily accelerator has no stated cap on the number of days, so there is no clean fixed ceiling, the same situation as Belgium's turnover-based formula. Criminal (applies regardless of any administrative fine already imposed, i.e. independently/additively): up to 2 years' imprisonment and/or €20,000 for a first conviction, up to 3 years and/or €30,000 for a second or later conviction — covers not just non-compliance itself but certificate misuse and false statements to authorities. Courts can also order reimbursement of enforcement costs.
Who is obligated in Cyprus
Cyprus's Law 57(I)/2024 transposes the EAA's scope directly, covering the same product list (general-purpose computer hardware/operating systems, self-service terminals such as ATMs, ticket vending and check-in machines, and payment terminals, plus consumer terminal equipment for electronic communications and audiovisual access, and e-readers) and service list (electronic communications, audiovisual media access services, elements of air/rail/bus/inland-waterway passenger transport, consumer banking, e-books, e-commerce). Manufacturers, importers, distributors, and service providers each face distinct duties — five-year retention of technical files and EU declarations of conformity for products, published accessibility explanations for services — enforced by the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare as competent authority, assisted by other public departments the Council of Ministers designates as market-surveillance partners for their sector. The standard EU microenterprise exemption (fewer than 10 employees, turnover or balance sheet under €2,000,000) applies only to services (Art. 5(5)); microenterprises dealing in products remain fully obligated, though the competent authority must publish guidance to help them comply.
What happens if you don't comply
Cyprus runs two parallel enforcement tracks that can both apply to the same conduct. Administratively, the competent authority can fine a first violation up to €10,000 and a repeat violation up to €20,000, plus up to €500 for every additional day a violation continues uncorrected (Art. 36) — a fine calculated by nature, severity, and duration, issued only after the operator has had a chance to be heard, appealable to the Administrative Court within 75 days, and collected as a civil debt to the Republic if unpaid (Art. 37). Separately — regardless of any administrative fine already imposed — placing a non-compliant product or service on the market, ignoring a formal compliance notice, misusing or improperly issuing a conformity certificate, or giving false information to the authorities is a criminal offence: up to 2 years' imprisonment and/or a €20,000 fine for a first conviction, rising to 3 years and/or €30,000 for a second or later one (Art. 38). Courts can also order convicted operators to reimburse the authorities' enforcement costs, including seizure and destruction expenses (Art. 39).
How this differs from the EU baseline
Cyprus is one of the few countries covered here where administrative fines and criminal prosecution run on genuinely independent tracks rather than one escalating into the other — Article 38 applies regardless of any Article 36 administrative fine, so an operator can face both for the same underlying conduct. The open-ended €500-per-day continuing-violation fine is also distinctive: unlike a single capped penalty, it keeps accumulating for as long as non-compliance persists, so the real maximum exposure has no fixed ceiling, which is why this entry lists no single maximum figure. Criminal liability extends beyond the accessibility failure itself to certification misuse and false statements to regulators — closer to a market-integrity offence than a pure accessibility breach. Enforcement is also explicitly collaborative by design: the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare is the named competent authority, but the Council of Ministers can deputise other departments as sector-specific market-surveillance partners as needed.
How to complain
The Law names the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare as competent authority, with day-to-day handling delegated to officials within the Deputy Ministry (Art. 3(2)) — in practice, the Department for Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities, reachable at info@dsid.dmsw.gov.cy or +357 22 815 015. No dedicated online complaint form or portal specifically for reporting non-compliant products or services under this law could be confirmed, as opposed to the separate public-sector website-accessibility complaints channel, which falls under a different EU directive entirely. Reporting currently appears to run through direct contact with the Deputy Ministry rather than a self-service form.
Frequently asked questions about the EAA in Cyprus
- What is the maximum EAA fine in Cyprus?
- Cyprus does not set a single fixed euro maximum in its implementing law. Two independent tracks, both confirmed verbatim from the official Government Gazette text (Art.
- Who enforces the European Accessibility Act in Cyprus?
- Deputy Minister of Social Welfare (Υφυπουργός Κοινωνικής Πρόνοιας) — named competent authority (Art. 3(1)), who may delegate to officials within the Deputy Ministry (Art. 3(2)). The Council of Ministers separately designates other public-sector departments as accessibility oversight authorities to cooperate on market surveillance according to their staffing and subject-matter expertise (Art. 3(3)) — a coordinator-plus-sector-partners model. Details are published at https://www.gov.cy/dmsw/en/.
- Since when does the EAA apply in Cyprus?
- The requirements apply from 28 June 2025, the EU-wide date, transposed into Cyprus by Cyprus's national implementing law.
- Are small businesses exempt from the EAA in Cyprus?
- Only microenterprises — fewer than 10 staff and annual turnover or balance sheet total of €2 million or less — and only for services. A microenterprise in Cyprus that places a covered product on the market still has to make that product accessible.
Official source: https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/arith/2024_1_057.pdf
Verified on 2026-09-29. This page is not legal advice — verify against the official source above before making compliance decisions.