South Africa’s business owners face serious consequences for not complying with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) requirements.
More than 650 000 companies were deregistered last year mostly due to missed annual returns, according to the CIPC’s annual report.
Deregistered companies could find themselves unable to trade and invoice their clients. In a worst-case scenario, the state can legally absorb assets of non-compliant businesses, according to local startup InfoDocs.
Joshua Alexandre, InfoDocs founder and CEO, says: “Imagine your business being unable to operate or own assets; your business bank account is at risk of suspension with deregistration. It’s a nightmare, but one that can be avoided.”
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) recently announced that companies must register their beneficial ownership information with the CIPC by 30 November 2024. This action is part of South Africa’s commitment to address its greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force and tighten governance on beneficial ownership. Failure to comply could result in sanctions and restrict businesses’ ability to operate.
The CIPC issues new directives often, which are missed by many business owners who do not proactively check the website for changes.
Filing an annual return through InfoDocs is simple and can be completed in a few minutes with all of the required supporting documents. Users can file both beneficial ownership and annual return in 10 minutes from R349.
Tips for submitting CIPC returns
Alexandre says that while the complexity can vary greatly from business to business, CIPC compliance is based on providing relatively straightforward information. He provides some tips:
Annual CIPC returns cannot be filed if your beneficial ownership has not been submitted in the same calendar year.
- You need to capture your share register to file beneficial ownership – every registered company must keep a share register, something InfoDocs offers at no charge. It’s not necessarily the same as beneficial ownership.
- You’ll need some supporting information to file beneficial ownership: names, ID numbers, addresses, and copies of IDs for all shareholders with more than 5% equity.
- You can file directly with CIPC and save yourself about R100, but it can be a minefield for those not experienced in dealing with the CIPC.
- If you use an accountant or professional, ask them to confirm all due dates as they differ for each business. Also, confirm that your contact details with CIPC are up to date. Several InfoDocs clients realised that their returns were overdue when they signed up with InfoDocs, as they thought this important function was being managed by their accountant or bookkeeper.