The yearly filing every company and close corporation makes to CIPC to confirm it is still trading. Due within 30 business days of the anniversary of incorporation, so every business has its own date rather than a shared national one. Not a tax return.

An additional customs duty on a specific tariff heading, imposed to counter goods imported below normal value. It changes the landed cost of affected stock lines immediately, which is why a distributor needs the tariff code on the stock record rather than in a supplier's head.

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. A scorecard measuring ownership, management control, skills development, enterprise and supplier development, and socio-economic development. Most businesses meet it as a customer requirement before they meet it as a legal one.

The natural persons who ultimately own or control a company, as declared to CIPC. Since July 2024 the declaration and the annual return are linked by a hard stop: the annual return cannot be filed unless beneficial ownership is submitted and current.

The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, which requires employers to register with the Compensation Fund and submit an annual Return of Earnings. A Letter of Good Standing is issued off it and is routinely demanded by customers before work starts.

The fully loaded cost of completing one job: labour hours, travel, materials, and the share of overhead it consumed. The number most service businesses quote against without ever having calculated, which is how a busy month produces a bad margin.

An employer required to report under the Employment Equity Act: 50 or more employees, plus municipalities, organs of state and employers bound by a collective agreement. The headcount test applies to the year, not to the day you check it.

The annual employment equity report a designated employer submits, covering workforce profile and movement by occupational level.

The income differential statement submitted alongside the EEA2, reporting remuneration by occupational level. It is drawn from the same payroll as your EMP501, and where the two disagree it is usually because one was assembled by hand.

Exempted Micro Enterprise. The smallest B-BBEE category, which qualifies on a sworn affidavit rather than a verification certificate. The turnover threshold is set by the applicable sector code, so confirm yours rather than assuming the generic one.

The monthly employer declaration to SARS covering PAYE, UIF and SDL for the preceding month, due within seven days of month end. When the seventh falls on a weekend or public holiday it moves earlier, never later.

The employer reconciliation, submitted twice a year, comparing what you declared on your EMP201s, what you actually paid, and the tax certificates issued to employees. The point at which twelve months of small payroll errors have to agree.

The B-BBEE scorecard element under which a measured entity supports black-owned suppliers and enterprises, typically as a percentage of net profit after tax. The obligation is calculated off a published number, which is why a results announcement is a useful thing to read before a conversation.

The record created when stock physically arrives, matching what was delivered against what was ordered. The control that decides whether an invoice can be paid, and the one most often skipped when a delivery arrives during a busy period.

The employee tax certificate produced by the annual EMP501 reconciliation, showing income and deductions for the tax year. An employee cannot file their return correctly until the employer's reconciliation is right.

Confirmation from the Compensation Fund that an employer's COIDA registration, Return of Earnings and assessment payments are current. Frequently a precondition for being allowed onto a customer's site.

The band an employee's role sits in for employment equity reporting, from top management down to unskilled. A judgement rather than a field that fills itself, and the one most often assigned once and never revisited when a job changes.

Under POPIA, a party that processes personal information on behalf of a responsible party. Your payroll bureau, CRM host, backup vendor and tracking provider are typically operators. Using one does not move the responsibility.

The Promotion of Access to Information Act, which gives a right of access to records held by public and private bodies, and requires most businesses to maintain and publish a manual describing what they hold and how to request it.

The Protection of Personal Information Act. It sets conditions for lawfully processing personal information and distinguishes the responsible party, who decides why and how, from the operator, who processes on their behalf.

A person who exercises general executive control over a company regardless of job title or whether they are a director. It matters because Companies Act duties, including keeping the company record accurate, attach to prescribed officers as well as to directors.

Income tax paid in advance during the year of assessment rather than in one amount afterwards. For a February year end the first period ends 31 August and the second at year end, with an optional third top-up payment after it.

Qualifying Small Enterprise. The middle B-BBEE category between an EME and a generic entity, measured on a reduced scorecard. Thresholds are set by the applicable sector code.

The address on the CIPC register where legal notices, court documents and compliance correspondence are validly served. Nothing about it expires; it simply stops being true when a business moves, and the register does not notice.

Under POPIA, the party that determines why and how personal information is processed. If you decide what is collected and what it is for, you are the responsible party, and that does not change because a supplier does the processing.

The annual declaration of employee earnings to the Compensation Fund, which the following year's COIDA assessment is calculated from. The submission window is extended in many years, so last year's closing date is not a safe guide.

Skills Development Levy. One percent of payroll, paid monthly with PAYE and UIF on the EMP201. Twenty percent of it is claimable back as a mandatory grant if the WSP and ATR are submitted to your SETA on time.

The Labour Relations Act process an employer must follow when contemplating dismissals for operational requirements. It is a consultation process with prescribed content and timing, not a notice period.

The Labour Relations Act provision under which employees transfer automatically to a new employer when a business is transferred as a going concern, on terms no less favourable. It applies whether or not the parties intended it.

The customs classification code determining the duty rate on an imported item. A change to the heading, or a new duty on it, changes landed cost for every stock line under it, so the code belongs on the stock record.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund. Contributions are paid monthly with PAYE on the EMP201, and employee details are declared separately, which is why an employer can be current on payment and behind on declarations.

The VAT return and payment for a tax period. Two due dates apply to the same obligation: the 25th for manual filing, and the last business day of the month on eFiling.

The Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report submitted to a SETA by 30 April. Missing the date forfeits the mandatory grant, worth 20 percent of the skills development levy paid that year, and it does not roll over.