CIPC annual returns: deadlines, fees and how to avoid deregistration
Missed annual returns are the single most common reason companies get deregistered. The rules are simple — the tracking is what fails.
Every company and close corporation must file an annual return with the CIPC each year. It is separate from your tax return to SARS, and missing it has a real consequence: deregistration, which strips the company of its legal existence and can freeze its bank accounts and contracts.
When is the annual return due?
- Companies must file within 30 business days after the anniversary of the date of incorporation.
- Close corporations file from the first day of the anniversary month of registration, with a 60-business-day window before late penalties apply.
Because the trigger is the incorporation anniversary, every entity in a group has a different due date. For anyone managing more than a handful of companies, that is the whole problem.
How the fee is calculated
The annual return fee is based on the company's annual turnover, and it increases the later you file. Filing on time keeps the fee at its lowest band; leaving it triggers escalating late-filing penalties.
What happens if you miss it
Repeatedly missing annual returns puts the company into deregistration. Reinstatement is possible but slow and costly: it requires a Form CoR40.5, advertising, outstanding returns, and supporting affidavits. Far cheaper to never get there.
Keeping a portfolio compliant
The reliable approach is a single calendar that knows each entity's incorporation date, calculates the next due date automatically, and reminds you well before the window closes. Complio does exactly this — surfacing every upcoming and overdue annual return across your whole portfolio on one screen, with the beneficial ownership status alongside it.