Nicosia – Lambros Teklos of LSTS Consultants Ltd scored the highest mark in the finals of the Diploma in VAT Excellence (DiVE), finishing at the top of his class.
Second overall and first in the oral exam with a perfect score came Angelos Onisiforou of Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC. Also tied for second place were Elena Kormpou and George Katsoudas.
DiVE is a high-level course spanning a period of 10-months, with emphasis on the Cyprus VAT legislation. Offered by the Chelco VAT International Academy, the 2021-2022 academic year was concluded in June with the final exams.
At the DiVE graduation ceremony, which was held at Cohiba Atmosphere in Nicosia on 23 September 2022, Academy lead Instructor, Alexis Tsielepis, awarded the eight graduates their diplomas, saying he felt profoundly proud of all them, adding:
“I congratulate you on your success and the level of VAT proficiency you have managed to achieve.”
Besides Teklos, Onisiforou, Kormpou and Katsoudas, the list of graduates included Ekaterina Rudakova, Maria Mylona-Michaelides, Nicholas Shiakallis and Stefanos Georgiades.
Each graduate received their DiVE diploma while Teklos also received a top mark award. The students reciprocated with two gifts for their teacher, Alexis Tsielepis, which included a personalised cigar cutter for his beloved Habanos.
The graduation ceremony was followed by a dinner reception at the Cohiba Atmosphere’s outdoor Cava Restaurant & Bar, Metochiou 25 Gardens.
DiVE students were taken through the EU VAT Directive’s main chapters line-by-line and step-by-step, analysing how they have been transposed in the Cyprus VAT legislation. DiVE also examined around 30 key judgments of the European Court of Justice on VAT interpretation.
The Diploma covered such notions as taxable person, taxable transactions, place of supply, taxable amount, time of supply, exemptions, deductions, the various VAT rates and the obligation to pay VAT.
DiVE also covered the Tour Operator Margin Scheme (TOMS), the margin scheme for second hand goods (including art and vehicles), the capital goods scheme, the One Stop Shop (OSS), the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) and more.
Lessons were delivered through a combination of full-day group classes, one-on-one workshops and online sessions.
The purpose of DiVE is to allow individuals and/or businesses to invest in a solid foundation on which they can then offer or apply the knowledge gained to address their own VAT requirements or those of their clients.
The diploma is geared towards industry professionals dealing with complex VAT issues, such as CFOs, Financial Controllers, accountants, tax consultants and tax lawyers.
The 2022-2023 DiVE is now under way in Limassol. For more information, visit https://chelcovat.com/vat-academy/.
