Article by listed accountant TYRONNE NEL
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Just when you thought it was OK, to breathe a sigh of relief and pat yourself on the back for a job well done, you realise that you are only part of the way down regulatory road.
While the procedures listed below are not all strictly Statutory Registrations they do form a very important part of running your business, below is a list of registrations that need to be completed at various stages of your business cycle.
This was introduced by Government as a method of weeding our delinquent tax payers who did business with the state, and rightly so, as why should you gain from “tax” money if you are not paying your taxes. Due to the high rate of fraud in SA many businesses now require you to provide them with a Tax Clearance Certificate before they will do business with you. It is important to note, no private business can withhold payment to your business if you do not provide them with a valid tax clearance certificate – ONLY a government department can do this. Update: SARS has now established a Tax Compliance Status system .
Many business owners confuse annual returns with their annual Income Tax return and therefore tend to ignore it. This I’m afraid, is a very bad move as all companies and close corporations are required by law to lodge an annual return. Just to be clear, your annual return is due by the end of the month following your date of registration.
While having your business BEE certified is not a legal requirement (except for Listed Companies), many businesses are finding it nearly impossible to get business from other entities unless they are certified. Bee Certification needs to be done annually to be kept up to date.
while still a legal requirement for large business and Government departments, SME’s within certain categories have been exempt from compiling and submitting a manual until 31st December 2015. As a simple rule of thumb, if your businesses turnover exceeds R5million per annum, you are probably liable to prepare a manual.
While still a legal requirement for large business and Government departments, SME’s within certain categories have been exempt from submitting an annual report. As above if your businesses turnover exceeds R5million per annum, you are probably liable to submit a return.
Once again the above registrations are generic to all businesses and industries, please double check what other industry specific registrations you might require that are industry specific to your business!
