South Africa Company Registration.
South Africa Company Registration
Types of company you can register in South Africa:
Sole Proprietorship
This is a business owned and operated by one person. All income from the business should be included in your individual tax return. There is unlimited liability.
Partnership
A business run and owned by two or more people. This is not a separate legal entity, so each partner is taxed on their share of the profits. You can’t have more than twenty partners, and there is unlimited liability.
Close Corporation
This is a separate legal entity, must register as a taxpayer. Members don’t have shares, but a percentage interest. The maximum number of members is 10. There is no share capital so there are no shareholders.
Private Company
This is a separate legal entity, must register as a taxpayer. The owners are shareholders, and the maximum number of shareholders is 50. There is limited liability for shareholders.
Joint venture
This represents a significant section of international operations in South Africa, particularly amongst the larger companies. The economic sectors in which joint ventures are most commonly found are research and development, national resource exploration, engineering and construction, production and manufacturing, buying and selling, and services.
Offshore Companies
By choosing to incorporate an offshore company, business owners and investors can set-up a business outside the jurisdiction of its operations.
Offshore companies are traditionally incorporated for lower fees and taxes. Business owners must not trade within the jurisdiction.
The benefits of offshore companies:
- Reduced tax and fees are often big factors when considering offshore incorporation.
- Simplify set-up and maintenance.
- Assume anonymity – the names of owners and directors are not in a public record, and references to the company may only be made in its registered agent
- Ensure legal protection – for instance, some jurisdictions favour corporate governance, meaning a company is only liable to offshore laws as opposed to those in its areas of operation
- Protect assets – business owners may opt to arrange their assets and transactions in such a way that protects them from liability
Offshore company must have:
- Memorandum and Articles of Association
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Registered Office/Registered Agent
- Shareholders or Members
- Directors
- Company secretary
- Statutory Register
- Bookkeeping
