According to CIPC’s report, Non-compliance is still rising in South Africa as SMEs fail to submit their annual returns. 72% of companies in South Africa have failed to submit their returns and this is due to the introduction of fintech solutions.
About 3.1 million companies are registered in South Africa and only 72% don’t submit required documents such as annual returns resulting in them not meeting the basic legal requirements.
According to CIPC, every registered company must meet certain requirements to remain active and trading in South Africa. These include filing an annual return, notifying the government of changes to company, director, member and officer information, maintaining a register of shareholders, and producing various company records. Failing to do so could result in penalties and deregistration.
According to reports the CIPC deregistered more than 640 000 companies for failing to submit required documents.
Joshua Alexandre, founder and CEO of InfoDocs, said many privately held companies are put off by the red tape and costs involved in remaining compliant. “We developed software to simplify company secretarial services for directors and shareholders. Our system imports data directly from the CIPC, produces professional templates and stores company records securely online.”
New Rules:
Beneficial Ownership Information In addition to existing obligations, the CIPC recently announced that companies must submit information regarding their beneficial ownership by 1 October 2023, further complicating the compliance landscape.
The Role of Fintech Solutions While companies can fulfil their obligations through the CIPC’s website, many choose to employ the services of professional company secretaries. However, these services can be costly, contributing to the low compliance rate. Recognizing this gap, a startup has developed proprietary software to help companies achieve CIPC compliance starting from just R199 for an annual return.
Simplifying Compliance with Fintech InfoDocs, founded by Joshua Alexandre, offers a user-friendly software solution that simplifies company secretarial services for directors and shareholders. The platform allows users to import data directly from the CIPC, generate professional templates, and securely store company records online. Even professionals utilize InfoDocs to streamline their operations.
