There are various circumstances in which a company (or close corporation) can become deregistered at the CIPC.

1. The company itself can apply for deregistration at the CIPC, for any number of reasons.
2. If a company has not submitted and paid its annual returns for more than two successive years, the CIPC will inform such a company of the fact and the intention of the CIPC to deregister said company. If such a company does not take any steps to remedy the situation, the CIPC will proceed to finally deregister it.
3. If the CIPC believes that the company has been inactive for seven or more years.

How can a company be restored?

It is possible to restore such a company or close corporation which has been finally deregistered, but all outstanding information and annual returns (including the fees) will have to be lodged with the CIPC. An additional R200 prescribed re-instatement fee must also be paid.

Recently, the CIPC has set additional requirements to do this, which also impacts on the time, administration and cost to restore such a company. These requirements took effect from 1 November 2012.

The steps and requirements for the re-instatement process are:

1. The proper application CoR40.5 form Application for Re-instatement of Deregistered Company must be completed and submitted, originally signed by the duly authorised person.
2. A certified copy of the identity document of the applicant (director / member) must be submitted.
3. A certified copy of the identity document of the person filing the application must be submitted.
4. A Deed Search, reflecting the ownership of any immovable property (or not) by the company, must be obtained and submitted together with the application.
5. If the company does in fact own any immovable property, a letter from National Treasury must be submitted, indicating that the department has no objection to the re-instatement of the company.
6. Also, if the company does in fact own any immovable property, a letter from the Department of Public Works must be submitted, indicating that the department has no objection to the re-instatement of the company.
7. An advertisement must be placed in a local newspaper where the business of the company is conducted, giving 21 days’ notice of the proposed application for re-instatement.
8. If the deregistration was due to non-compliance with regards to annual returns, an affidavit indicating the reasons for the non-filing of annual returns must be submitted.
9. If the company itself applied for deregistration, an affidavit indicating the reasons for the original request for deregistration must be submitted.
10. Sufficient documentary proof indicating that the company was in business or that it had any assets or liabilities at the time of deregistration must be submitted.
11. All outstanding annual returns must be submitted and paid, along with any penalties.

Upon compliance of all of the above requirements, the CIPC will issue a notice to the company that it is restored.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)