The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission – CIPC – is responsible for a number of processes which govern companies’ existence and operations. From registration of companies and intellectual property rights such as patents, designs and copyright; disclosure of information on its business registers to enforcement of relevant legislation –CIPC’S processes and functions are crucial for the continued existence, protection and maintenance of companies and intellectual property in the Republic. It is therefore important for company owners to be aware of the applicable processes of CIPC in order to ensure continued compliance.
It is an important requirement for instance that SA business entities pay an annual fee and lodge their annual returns with CIPC once a year. This process is important as it confirms that a company is still in business and further that the company in question will continue trading in future. If this process is not adhered to, the CIPC will assume that your business is inactive and your business will be deregistered and in effect cease to exist unless you restore registration. The CIPC status of your company is also affected through this process.
CIPC information, especially the status of your business is used by banks for account opening purposes, credit assessment and other banking services. If for instance your CIPC Enterprise Status is logged as “deregistered” or “deregistration in progress” you may have a difficult time accessing finance facilities until your CIPC status is re-instated to “in business”.
When naming a company, the new Companies Act also provides for name reservation – a process which helps when a proposed name is rejected. The reservation of a name process involves completing a CoR 9.1 Form and a filing fee which differs for electronic and manual filings. A name reservation filing is valid for 6 months and this period may be extended by completing Form CoR 9.2 and payment for the extension. Names of Companies can be reserved in any language, however any name reservation in a foreign language must be accompanied by a certified translation and a certificate of translation.
Most of the CIPC processes can become a little complicated with the different Forms being required for changes made and so on. Professional assistance is recommended for CIPC processes to ultimately save you time and for the sake of your convenience. Trademarx Online offer specialised services which include the fast and efficient facilitation of CIPCprocesses at the most reasonable rates. Contact us or visit our website today for more info!
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