CIPRO - Keep your CC or Company Alive!!!!!

TRANSUNION INFORMATION UPDATE

TransUnion would urgently like to alert our clients to the latest deregistration of business entities in South Africa by the Company and Intellectual Properties Registration Office (CIPRO). The deregistrations are due to a failure to lodge annual returns. Our clients would have received business alerts from our monitoring service informing them of business status changes on many of their debtors as a result of CIPRO providing us with a file that contained over 750 000 deregistered entities.

CIPRO uses annual returns to confirm whether a company or close corporation is still doing business, as well as to update their records with the latest information. Businesses must lodge their annual returns within their anniversary month of their incorporation up until the end of the month thereafter. Failure to submit within this specified two-month period will result in incurring a penalty fee of R150. Omitting to lodge an annual return within six months from the anniversary date of your company will result in the entity being deregistered on the CIPRO database.

A business entity will still have the opportunity to lodge its annual returns electronically via the CIPRO website while in deregistration, this will automatically change the business status back into “In business”. However if the entity has been placed into final deregistration a different process must be adhered to. We have provided this process below for your information.

FINAL DEREGISTRATION FOR CLOSE CORPORATION

If the deregistration process has been completed (finally deregistered) due to the failure of a business to lodge and pay annual returns, a written application may be made to the registrar who may restore the entity. An application for restoration for a close corporation must be made by the lodgement of a duly completed CK3 form which carries a statutory fee of R150. It is imperative that businesses pay this fee into their CIPRO bank account prior to lodging the CK3 or the application will be denied. Applications can be e-mailed to annualreturns@cipro.gov.za , and a response on your application should be received between 1 – 3 days.

The CK3 must indicate to the Registrar

• Reason as to why it must be restored

• Intention to lodge all outstanding annual returns and other statutory returns in order to update the information of the entity once restored.

• Letter from the National Treasury and Public Works indicating that they do not object to the restoration of the entity (if immovable property involved)

• Proof of payment of the prescribed restoration fee of R150

FINAL DEREGISTRATION FOR COMPANIES

For the restoration of a company who has been deregistered due to failure to lodge and pay annual, a written application on a letterhead may be made to the Registrar who may restore the entity.

This application letter must indicate:

• Why annual returns were not lodged

• Reason as to why it must be restored

• Intention to lodge all outstanding annual returns and other statutory returns in order to update the information of the entity once restored.

• Letter from the National Treasury and Public Works indicating that they do not object to the restoration of the entity (if immovable property involved)

• Proof of payment of the prescribed restoration fee of R150

If the business entities application is successful the business status will be amended to reflect Deregistration in Process. It is in this status that a business must then submit the annual returns in order to become compliant.

so do not be shnoop - pay your bucks and protect your assets.