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CIPC: Foreigner assurance process integration with beneficial ownership
- 27 February 2024
- CIPC
- South African Accounting Academy
Beneficial ownership information by corporate vehicles registered with the CIPC must be submitted to the Commission in terms of the amendments brought about by the General Laws (anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act, 22 of 2022.
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) remains committed to customer service and the effective and efficient processing of beneficial ownership submissions and associated information.
On 1 December 2023, the CIPC launched the online Foreigner Assurance service on CIPC’s e-Services platform. The foreigner assurance process allows foreign nationals to submit their information electronically together with a certified copy of their passport / foreign identity document to the CIPC for manual assurance or verification before they can transact with the CIPC on various platforms.
As per Notice 64/2023, the Foreigner Assurance service will be phased into some services, including director amendments, new company registration, and beneficial ownership filing, amongst others.
The integration process entails the BO service validating against the Foreigner Assurance database, whether a foreign national (declared as a beneficial owner) complied with the Foreigner Assurance process.
Foreign national information is only accepted and processed via the CIPC e-Services platform since BizPortal, Mobile App, and Self-Service Terminals are for South African Identity Card/Identity Document holders only.
The Foreigner Assurance Beneficial Ownership integration marks another step in the validation and verification process, to ensure correct, accurate, and up-to-date information held on the CIPC registers.
The Step by Step Guide on the Foreigner Assurance service is available on the CIPC website at https://www.cipc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Step-by-Step-Guide-Foreigner-Assurance-Verification-V2.1.pdf.
Click here to download Notice 13 of 2024:
https://www.cipc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NOTICE-TO-CUSTOMERS-BO-FA-INTEGRATION.pdf
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
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The Companies Act is yet another piece of legislation that your clients must comply with, and which you must assess compliance with. If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (Non-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
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As an auditor, independent reviewer and accountant, you also need to monitor your client’s compliance with the Companies Act and all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator.
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Where you perform these compliance tasks on behalf of your client, you need to ensure that you comply with all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator.
Relevance to Your Clients:
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An entity (company or close corporation) must comply with the Companies Act, and all relevant notices/enforcements/practice notes/customer letters issued by CIPC as the regulator.