Reference: Published by Staff Writer on BusinessTech, 15 March 2023
The Draft Companies Amendment Rules for 2023 are now available for public comment, according to the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition.
This week, Minister Ebrahim Patel gazetted the proposed modifications and invited interested parties to comment on the rules that would eventually become law.
Within 14 days following the publication, stakeholders and interested parties are requested to make written comments on the draft regulations (deadline set for 24 March).
Aiming to “increase the ease of doing business through well-established principles, achieve equity between directors and senior management, and counter money laundering and counter-terrorism,” the new legislation are intended to, broadly speaking.
Companies would need to take additional efforts in order to certify specific business procedures, create checks and balances for conducting business, and make sure that beneficial interests are reported as a result of the modifications.
The General Laws Amendment Act, 2022, which was ratified on December 29, 2022, is the direct cause of the proposed rules, particularly those relating to money laundering and counterterrorism.
A number of new laws, including the General Laws Amendment Act, were passed to bring South Africa’s financial regulatory framework into compliance with international norms. Prior to South Africa being placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s “grey list,” Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana made the suggestion (FATF).
The new bill aimed to increase South Africa’s capacity to combat financial crime and corruption while bringing the country into compliance with the FATF’s recommendations.
It has set out to alter a number of laws pertaining to particular industries in order to accomplish this, most notably the Trust Property Control Act, Nonprofit Organizations Act, Financial Intelligence Center Act, and the Companies Act.
The Companies Act’s requirements, some of which date back to 2011, are being changed in order to ensure more regulatory compliance and more checks and balances for the nation’s enterprises.
For instance, new definitions for terms like the Financial Intelligence Centre and “certified copy” have been established through modifications to Regulation 2 of the Companies Regulations (2011).
Regulation 5 of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, which governs forms and filing requirements, is also anticipated to alter as a result of the additional verification steps that the commission may seek whenever it sees fit.
According to the proposed regulations, whenever information or documentation is filed with a regulatory agency, the company is required to have written confirmation that it is truthful and complete, as well as additional supporting information, in addition to just providing a certified copy of the pertinent documentation.
The new laws stipulate that yearly returns and other associated filings must be submitted along with a copy of the company’s securities registration and a statement of beneficial interests.