Compliance
CIPC Annual Returns
Keep your entity records current with a clear process for CIPC annual-return submissions.
R349
once-off
- Annual return filing with CIPC
- Compliance status check
- Company status update
- Reminder for next year
Tell us what you need
A CIPC annual return is not a tax return
An annual return is a yearly filing that confirms your company still exists and that CIPC's record of it is current. SARS wants a tax return; CIPC wants an annual return; filing one does nothing for the other. Founders who assume their accountant "did the returns" are usually thinking of the SARS side.
Every registered company and close corporation files one. Trading, dormant, one director or ten — the obligation is the same. "We did not trade this year" is not an exemption, and it is the single most common reason a working business ends up in arrears.
When yours is due
CIPC annual return timing runs off your company's own registration anniversary, not off a national deadline and not off the tax year. Two companies registered three months apart have due dates three months apart. If you are not sure when yours falls, send us the registration number and we will check the record before you pay for anything.
The obligation starts at your first anniversary, so a company registered last month has nothing to file yet. Nobody posts you a reminder either. The duty sits with the directors, and the register does not care how small or quiet the business is.
What the filing fee depends on
The CIPC fee is not a flat number. It scales with the annual turnover you declare, so the figure a friend quoted you is not necessarily the figure you will pay. Late returns attract penalties on top, and those accrue per outstanding year rather than once.
Our filing charge is separate from the CIPC fee and is listed on packages. We keep the amounts in one place so a page cannot quietly quote a price that checkout no longer charges.
What we need from you
- Company name and registration number, in the 2023/123456/07 format
- The last year you filed, if you know it — "not sure" is a valid answer, and the field accepts a blank
That list is deliberately short. This filing works off CIPC's record rather than off documents you upload, so there is no certified-copy exercise here.
After you order
- We pull the company's current status from the CIPC record and confirm how many returns are actually outstanding.
- We tell you what the CIPC fee comes to for your turnover band, including penalties where returns are late.
- We lodge the return, or the run of returns where several years are behind.
- We confirm the updated status on the record and send it to you.
- We set a reminder for next year so this stops being an annual scramble.
Step one is the genuinely useful part. It is common for an owner to believe one return is outstanding and discover three are, and the difference changes both the cost and the urgency.
What happens if you keep missing them
Missed returns do not stay a paperwork problem. CIPC refers persistently non-compliant companies for deregistration, and a deregistered company stops legally existing. The consequences land quickly:
- The bank account freezes, because it belongs to an entity that no longer exists.
- Tenders and contracts fall away. A CSD profile and a tax compliance status both depend on a live CIPC record.
- Assets registered in the company name become a problem that costs far more to unwind than the returns would have.
- Directors have nothing to sign on behalf of.
Restoring a company is a separate, slower, more expensive application than filing would ever have been — and every outstanding return is still payable afterwards.
If the company is already deregistered
An annual return is not the tool for that. Restoring a company to the register is a separate application — see beneficial ownership and reinstatement — and reinstatement does not clear returns that are still outstanding.
Beneficial ownership sits alongside it
A company must also file the natural persons who ultimately own or control it, and keep that register current. It is tied to the same annual cycle, so the sensible thing is to deal with both in one pass rather than discovering the second one when a bank asks.
Returns are not your only ongoing obligation
Keeping an entity clean usually means three things, filed with three different bodies:
- CIPC — annual returns, and a current beneficial ownership register
- SARS — income tax, plus VAT or payroll if they apply to you (tax registration)
- Compensation Fund — COIDA, if you employ anybody (COIDA registration)
Banks and buyers tend to ask for evidence of all three at once, usually at short notice.
Changes during the year
If your directors or shareholders changed, update the record with director changes or shareholder changes. The annual return does not pick those up — they are separate filings.
Common questions
When is my CIPC annual return due?
Within 30 business days of your company's registration anniversary, every year. It is not tied to the tax year or to any national deadline, so two companies registered three months apart have due dates three months apart. The first one falls due on your first anniversary.
Is a CIPC annual return the same as a SARS tax return?
No. They are two separate obligations at two separate bodies. The CIPC annual return confirms the company still exists and that the register is current. The SARS return declares income and tax. Filing one does nothing for the other.
Do dormant companies have to file annual returns?
Yes. The obligation attaches to being on the register, not to trading. A company that has never invoiced anybody still files, and not trading is the most common reason owners let returns slip into arrears.
How much does a CIPC annual return cost?
The CIPC fee scales with the annual turnover you declare, so there is no single figure. Late returns add penalties for each outstanding year. Our filing charge is separate and is listed on the packages page.
What happens if I miss my annual returns?
The return can still be filed late, with penalties. Keep missing them and CIPC refers the company for deregistration, at which point it stops legally existing: the bank account freezes, tenders and contracts fall away, and directors have nothing to sign on behalf of. Reinstatement is a separate application and every outstanding return remains payable.
Can you file several years of outstanding returns at once?
Yes. We check the record first to establish how many years are actually outstanding, quote the CIPC fees and penalties for that run, and lodge them together. Owners frequently believe one year is behind and find that three are.