The Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB) issued an urgent circular on Thursday, 24 September 2026, warning companies that all electronic customs platforms—including the Business-to-Government (B2G) gateway—will be offline from 17:00 on Friday, 25 September until 18:00 on Saturday, 26 September. The outage is required to migrate key e-government tools (CY Login, CY Notify, CY Connect, CY Pay, CY Sign and the Core Gateway) to the new Government Data Centre. During the 25-hour window, traders will be unable to submit import/export declarations, pay duties or obtain transit guarantees. Freight forwarders have been advised to complete all clearance formalities before 14:00 on Friday or face warehouse storage fees and potential demurrage at ports and airports. Passenger traffic could also feel knock-on effects. Although airlines and cruise operators do not file manifests via the affected system, any consignments that arrive as accompanied cargo will be stuck in temporary storage until the IT migration is completed. Travellers hand-carrying high-value goods may therefore experience longer red-channel checks. The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy says the migration will improve cyber-resilience and pave the way for a single sign-on portal for all immigration, tax and social-security services. However, logistics associations argue the chosen timing—coinciding with a weekend of elevated retail imports ahead of October holidays—could cost the economy millions in delayed shipments. Companies with just-in-time supply chains should instruct customs brokers to lodge pre-arrival declarations today and reschedule deliveries where possible. Emergency contacts have been set up at cds-support@dits.dmrid.gov.cy for real-time problem-solving during the blackout.
