How to Check if a Company is Legally Registered in South Africa
Do you wish to learn how to check if a company is registered in South Africa? The the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) is responsible for company registrations in the country. When doing business with a company, it’s important to make sure that the company that you are dealing with is legally registered. There are many businesses out there, not all of which are legitimate. A CIPC registration is one way through which to ensure that the company that you are dealing with is genuine.
Steps to Verify CIPC Registration Status
The following is how to check if a company is registered with SARS;
- Go to the Ciproza website.
- Click on Status Search.
- You will need to register to continue with your search. Click on the Register Now button to get going.
- The system will send you an email. Click on the link in the email to confirm your address.
- You will now be taken to the Ciproza home page.
- Click on Status Search and type in the name of the company that you wish to look up.
- If a Company is registered with the CIPC, then that company will also be registered with SARS.
What is Ciproza?
That’s how to check if a company is legally registered in South Africa. We noted here that you can do it via the Ciproza website. But what is Ciproza? Ciproza is dedicated solely to ensuring that people can quickly get company registration information.
As noted at the top, information is housed at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). This was previously known as the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO).
Checking if a company exits or is registered is free on the Ciproza website. However, there are some detailed searches that attract a small fee. As an example, you will have to pay R49 if you wish to get the company’s full name, it’s registration number and it’s trading status. That’s a small price to pay, considering the benefits.
Why check a company’s SARS registration?
Now you know how to verify if a company is registered in South Africa. But why would you wish to do this? We have already provided one of the reasons for doing so.
Before doing business with any company, you need to make sure that it is genuine. There is a lot of fraud going on in South Africa, and you can spare yourself the pain by verifying company registration.
If a company pays taxes, then chances are high that it is genuine. However, if you deal with a company that’s not registered, you could end up being burnt. Carrying out the checks outlined here help protect your business.
Let’s assume that you wish to buy stock from a company. Or maybe you wish to make a large purchase of goods and services. Perhaps a company has applied for a loan from your business.
Thing is, just as businesses carry out background checks on their clients, it’s crucial for clients and others businesses to carry out similar background checks. Verifying a company’s CIPC registration status is a good way of checking whether or not it’s genuine.
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Summary
This article was dedicated to showing you how to check if a company is registered with the South African Revenue Service (SARS). We noted that carrying out background checks is important if you wish to avoid falling into the pit of dealing with bogus companies. A background check does not take that much time, but it’s worth it at the end of the day.
How long does SARS take to verify banking details?