NOTICE TO NON PROFIT COMPANIES (AND PTYS): THE CIPC CHECKLIST
WHAT IS IT?
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has introduced an additional compulsory reporting requirement for companies with effect from the 2020 year, to increase awareness of and compliance with the obligations and processes of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. This additional requirement takes the form of a checklist, and companies must each year indicate which of the listed sections of the Companies Act they have complied with.
Please note that this compliance requirement is only applicable to companies which are registered with the CIPC. For those who are trusts or voluntary associations, you may ignore this notice.
ngoLAW CHEAT SHEET
As the compliance checklist issued by CIPC refers just to the numbers of the sections of the Act, ngoLAW has created a user-friendly version of the checklist, which explains the sections and the factors to consider when answering the questions.
The brief but precise explanations of each item in the ngoLAW CIPC checklist have been crafted specially for use by the non-profit clients of ngoLAW. They do not contain all of the words in the Act, just the parts we think most relevant. (We think that this approach is more likely to achieve accurate reporting and compliance.)
THE YEARS
CIPC currently has two years available for filing the checklist- 2020 and 2021. Both of these are currently due. The process is being rolled out by CIPC and there is still leniency with deadlines, but the ongoing requirement will be that companies are required to submit their responses for the preceding calendar year (based on anniversary of incorporation date) within 30 business days of each anniversary of incorporation date.
IF WE ARE NOT HANDLING YOUR ANNUAL RETURNS TO CIPC
please check with your accountant, bookkeeper or auditor whether they are handling the compliance checklist function. If they are, they may already have contacted you for the details they would need in order to do this. If they have not been in contact, and are not in a position to assist OR if their document or list of questions is difficult to understand, please contact us for our assistance on CIPCTeam@ngolawsa.co.za .
IF ngoLAW ALREADY HANDLES THE FILING OF YOUR ANNUAL RETURNS
and you do not shortly receive an email from us, feel free to email CIPCTeam@ngolawsa.co.za.
HOW IT WORKS
Our compliance checklist is made available in an online form and, once you have completed it, the answers to your questions are sent directly and securely to ngoLAW, so that we can enter these into the CIPC reporting database on your behalf. We have also built in a step of checking the answers given and assisting you with answering accurately. A copy of the completed checklist would be sent to you for signature, and for filing with your records. (Alternatively, you or your accountants or auditors could use the completed checklist to file the responses).
THE COSTS
For the 2020 and 2021 compliance checklists owed, we are offering the catch-up service or assistance with it for a discounted fee of R950 plus VAT for both years. For those who subscribe to our ngoComply annual service, the checklist will become part of that service for future years.
ANY QUESTIONS
If you have any concerns about the checklist or about any compliance issues arising, please let us know and we can assist. Please let us know if you would like this assistance by return email to CIPCTeam@ngolawsa.co.za .
