Company Annual Returns

All companies are required to file their annual returns with the CIPC once a year, within 30 business days of the company’s registration anniversary 🎂. The filing confirms whether a company is still in business, or will be in the near future. It’s like renewing your company for another year.

A company’s annual return becomes due in the anniversary month of its registration, and you have 30 business days from that date before CIPC treats it as late. You can still file after that — at the late fee shown in the table above.

The CIPC fee depends on your turnover and whether you file on time — the full table is above, and the fee calculator works out your total. On top of the CIPC fee, Govchain charges R320 per year filed.

Every outstanding year is charged at the late rate. Each late year replaces the standard fee with the higher one — R150 instead of R100 in the lowest band, up to R4,000 instead of R3,000 in the top band.

Yes. Even if your company was inactive, it is still legally required to file and pay annual returns. You would simply submit a zero turnover return.

They are two separate filings with two separate government bodies. The CIPC annual return is a summary of your company’s most up-to-date information, filed with CIPC to keep the company registered. A tax return deals with the company’s taxable income and is filed with SARS. Filing one does not cover the other — a company that is up to date with SARS can still be deregistered by CIPC for missing annual returns.

CIPC assumes the company is no longer doing business. Once two or more successive annual returns are outstanding, the company is automatically placed into the AR deregistration process — banks, SARS and the Central Supplier Database may refuse to deal with it in this status. If the returns stay unfiled, the company is finally deregistered and ceases to exist, while directors can remain personally liable for debts. Filing all outstanding returns before final deregistration cancels the process. We cover the rescue options in reinstate or start fresh and why thousands of companies are being deregistered.

Yes. Since 2023, CIPC will not accept an annual return unless the company’s latest beneficial ownership declaration is on file — the filing screen redirects you to it first. You also need to submit financial statements or a financial accountability supplement (FAS). Govchain files beneficial ownership declarations as part of the same clean-up.

Yes — annual returns can only be filed electronically, via BizPortal (bizportal.gov.za), CIPC e-Services or a Self Service Centre, and the CIPC fee is legislated so it is the same either way. What Govchain adds is doing the filing for you, including the beneficial ownership declaration and AFS/FAS that CIPC requires with it.

It can be re-instated. The CIPC fee for a re-instatement application (form CoR40.5) is R200, and once the status changes to “in re-instatement process” you still file every outstanding annual return at the late rate, plus the beneficial ownership declaration and financial statements. Whether reinstatement beats starting a new company depends on what the old one holds — see reinstate or start fresh.

Your latest approved financial statements. CIPC defines turnover for this purpose in section 223 read with regulation 164 of the Companies Act.