• The Treasury of Cyprus permanently wrote off claims and assets amounting to €1.05 million for 2025 due to inability to collect.

• The largest write-off, amounting to €357,011, concerns the Deputy Ministry of Tourism for operating licenses deemed legally unfounded following a review.

• Significant uncollected amounts stem from agricultural compensations of the Department of Agriculture, repatriation expenses of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and tax liabilities of deceased persons without property.

• Beyond revenue losses, the total amount includes write-offs of worn materials, thefts of state property, counterfeit banknotes, and small treasury deficits.

• Accounting write-off constitutes the final stage of long-term audits and is applied only when every realistic possibility of recovering the debts has been exhausted.

More than one million euros owed by citizens, businesses, and other obligors to the Republic of Cyprus will never be collected. After years of judicial procedures, administrative inquiries, and failed collection efforts, the Treasury of the Republic permanently closed dozens of files in 2025, writing off claims and assets with a total value of €1,050,388.77. Behind the numbers lie tourism licenses deemed legally unfounded, unreturned compensations, repatriation expenses, abandoned vessels, tax debts of deceased persons, as well as permanently lost state property.

These write-offs are recorded every year in the official statements of the Treasury, without becoming widely known to the general public. In reality, they represent the final stage of a lengthy process that can last even fifteen or twenty years. Before a file reaches the write-off stage, collection attempts, inter-departmental correspondence, judicial proceedings, legal opinions from the Law Office, and continuous re-examinations take place. Only when it is established that there is no longer any realistic possibility of recovering the money is the claim removed from the state’s accounting books.

It is worth noting that an accounting write-off does not mean the state decided to "forgive" a debt. On the contrary, it represents the accounting recognition that, following all provided actions, the specific claim can no longer be collected. It is the final act of a case that has essentially closed.

INK analyzed both the statement of write-offs over €1,000 and the one concerning smaller amounts. The overall picture shows that write-offs over €1,000 amounted to €1,033,955.72, while another €16,433.05 concerned smaller claims. The vast majority, €1,004,112.87, relates to the loss of public revenue. The remaining write-offs relate to materials, thefts of state property, counterfeit banknotes, and cash deficits.

The Numbers at a Glance

The largest write-off of 2025 originates from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and amounts to €357,011.07. This is a case that stands out not only because of its size, but also due to the reason that ultimately led to the write-off.

According to the official justification, the amount concerns invoices issued by the former Cyprus Tourism Organisation for operating licenses of tourist accommodations, travel agencies, entertainment venues, and tour guides during the 2015–2023 period. During the re-examination of the relevant files, it was found that the conditions for issuing those specific licenses were not met. A legal opinion followed from a Legal Advisor, stating that the claims could no longer be legally supported, resulting in their write-off. This single case alone accounts for more than one-third of all write-offs over €1,000 carried out in 2025.

The second largest write-off concerns the Department of Agriculture and amounts to €145,462.86. The case began in 2009, when the state paid compensations to citrus growers as part of a support scheme due to drought. Subsequent audits showed that in specific cases the terms of the scheme had not been observed, and the Government attempted to recover the money. However, the effort was never completed. The competent court rejected a request for an extension of time to file a lawsuit, resulting in the claims becoming time-barred and, sixteen years after their creation, being permanently written off.

In third place is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a write-off of €106,654.02. The largest part of the amount concerns repatriation expenses for patients and deceased persons paid by the Republic, without it being possible to recover them from the obligors. The same write-off includes other claims that had become time-barred or could no longer be adequately substantiated to continue the collection process.

These three cases absorb more than €609,000 and capture three completely different reasons why the state permanently loses public revenue: administrative decisions that can no longer be legally supported, judicial developments leading to time-barring, and financial obligations undertaken by the Public Sector that were never recovered. However, this is only the beginning of the full picture revealed by the official statements of 2025.

Abandoned Vessels That Left Debts Behind

Immediately following the three largest write-offs comes a case of a different nature, involving the Deputy Ministry of Shipping. The amount of €78,336.35 stems from uncollected mooring fees at Larnaca Marina, accumulated from abandoned vessels.

According to the official justification, the owed amounts remained uncollected despite actions taken, as recovery from the vessel owners proved impossible. Once available procedures were exhausted, the claim was written off from the Public Sector's accounting books. This is a classic case where the state does not lose tax revenue, but rather collections related to the management of public infrastructure.

The 95 Taxpayers Who Left No Property

The top five largest write-offs also include the Tax Department, with a total amount of €49,427.67.

The official statement notes that a significant part of the write-off concerns tax debts of 95 deceased persons. Following their death, it was established that no property existed from which the debts could be collected or state claims satisfied. The same write-off also includes companies placed into liquidation or struck off the register, as well as other cases where it was deemed there was no longer any practical possibility of collection.

This specific case captures perhaps better than any other the philosophy of accounting write-offs. The state does not waive a claim because it wishes to, but because there is no longer a person or asset from which to recover it.

They Do Not Concern Just One Ministry

Analysis of the data shows that write-offs are not limited to a single service or sector of the Public Sector. Instead, they involve ministries, deputy ministries, and state departments with completely different responsibilities.

The causes vary. In some cases, claims become time-barred following judicial developments. In others, continuing collection procedures yields no practical result, while there are cases where the legal basis of the claim itself ceases to exist after legal opinions or file re-examinations. The common denominator is that all write-offs occur only after the competent services conclude that no realistic possibility of recovering the amounts remains.

The Largest Write-Offs of 2025

These five cases account for more than three-quarters of the total amount written off in cases over €1,000. However, the official statements of the Treasury are not limited to uncollected debts. They also record losses concerning state property itself, from equipment theft and material write-offs to counterfeit banknotes and cash deficits, revealing a lesser-known aspect of public money management.

The Other Side of Write-Offs

The majority of the €1.05m concerns uncollected claims of the Government. However, the annual statements of the Treasury include a second category of losses, lesser-known but equally characteristic. This concerns state property that was lost, stolen, destroyed, or deemed unfit for further use, resulting in its permanent removal from the Republic's accounting books.

In 2025, materials worth a total of €30,911.89 were written off, while thefts of state property amounted to €14,566.75. Recorded in the same statements are counterfeit banknotes worth €500 and cash deficits of €297.26. While small compared to uncollected debts, these figures highlight that public financial losses do not stem solely from uncollected debts.

Equipment That Permanently Passed Into History

Material write-offs involve equipment across various state services that reached the end of its life cycle or suffered damage rendering repair uneconomical. Electronic devices, machinery, furniture, and other service equipment were removed from asset registers after completing all required administrative procedures.

A separate category involves thefts of state property. These cases involve equipment reported stolen and never recovered despite investigations. Following the conclusion of investigations and administrative procedures, these assets were permanently written off from state registers.

The Treasury tables also include cases of counterfeit banknotes totaling €500, as well as minor cash deficits of €297.26, handled according to standard accounting procedures.

The 2025 Picture in Numbers

Detailed recording of write-offs shows that behind the total amount of €1,050,388.77 lie dozens of different cases. Some originated over fifteen years ago, others became time-barred following court decisions, while in several cases competent services determined that no person or property remained from which to recover owed amounts. Simultaneously, losses of state property were deemed permanent and removed from public registries.

In 2025, dozens of files remaining open for years were closed permanently. Some concerned tourism licenses, others agricultural compensations, repatriation costs, mooring fees, deceased taxpayers' debts, or abandoned companies. The common element was that after exhausting every available means of collection or investigation, the state concluded these amounts and assets would never be recovered. Thus, they were permanently written off from the Republic's accounting books, closing another cycle of pending public administration matters.

Source: ink.com