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N&V ACCOUNTING& TAX SERVICES

Company registrationand CIPC compliance

N&V Accounting & Tax Services registers private companies, (Pty) Ltd, with CIPC and then keeps them compliant: CIPC annual returns, beneficial ownership filings, and registration with SARS for income tax, VAT and PAYE where needed. Anyone can register a company on CIPC's portals; we handle the whole setup so nothing is missed in the first year.

Register my companyAnnual returns help
New business owner signing company registration documents
CIPC + SARSSet up properly from day one

From registration to your first year-end

The company registration is the easy part. These are the steps people forget.

  • Name and registration

    Name reservation and incorporation of your (Pty) Ltd with CIPC, with your Memorandum of Incorporation.

  • SARS income tax

    Your new company registered for income tax, so it can file its ITR14 and get a tax compliance status.

  • VAT and PAYE

    Registered for VAT if you'll pass R2.3 million in taxable supplies, and for PAYE within 21 business days of employing staff.

  • Beneficial ownership

    Your beneficial ownership declaration filed and kept current. CIPC blocks annual returns without it.

  • CIPC annual returns

    Filed each year within 30 business days of your company's registration anniversary.

  • Bank and books

    Documents ready for you to open a business bank account. Bookkeeping set up from the first transaction.

How to register a company in South Africa

  1. Reserve a name (optional)

    Apply for up to four proposed names on CIPC's eServices or BizPortal. The electronic fee is R50, and a reserved name is valid for six months. You can skip this and register with your registration number as the name.

  2. Incorporate the company

    File the incorporation online with directors' and shareholders' details and a Memorandum of Incorporation. The fee for a private company is R125.

  3. Receive your registration certificate

    CIPC issues the company's registration certificate and registration number.

  4. Register with SARS

    Register the company for income tax, and for VAT and PAYE if they apply.

  5. File beneficial ownership information

    Declare who ultimately owns or controls the company, and keep it updated.

  6. Open a business bank account

    Banks ask for the registration documents and the directors' identification.

Source: CIPC "Name reservation" and "Company forms and fees", checked 30 September 2026. Fees are CIPC's filing fees only, not N&V's service fee.

Laptop and a folder of company documents on the counter of a new small shop
30 business daysafter your anniversary date

Annual returns and beneficial ownership, filed every year

Every South African company and close corporation must file an annual return with CIPC each year, even if it didn't trade. Companies must file within 30 business days after the anniversary of their registration date. Since 2024, CIPC won't accept an annual return unless the company's beneficial ownership information is up to date.

Miss annual returns and CIPC adds a penalty to the filing fee; keep missing them and the company can be deregistered. We diarise your anniversary date, file the return and update beneficial ownership when your shareholding changes.

Get my annual returns filed

Frequently asked questions

Register a private company, (Pty) Ltd, online through CIPC's eServices or BizPortal. Reserving a name costs R50 electronically, and incorporating a private company costs R125; you can skip the name reservation and use the registration number as the name. Then register the company with SARS for income tax, plus VAT and PAYE if required, and open a business bank account. Source: CIPC.

Every South African company and close corporation must file an annual return with CIPC each year, even if it didn't trade. A company must file within 30 business days after the anniversary of its registration date, together with its beneficial ownership declaration. Late filing adds a penalty to the filing fee, and continued non-compliance can lead to deregistration. Source: CIPC.

A beneficial owner is the person who ultimately owns or controls a company, directly or through other entities. Companies and close corporations must file their beneficial ownership information with CIPC and keep it current. Since 2024, CIPC's system blocks a company's annual return if its beneficial ownership declaration hasn't been filed, so it's now part of staying compliant every year.

You can register a company yourself on BizPortal or CIPC's eServices; the process is designed for that. Where an accountant helps is everything around it: choosing whether a company is the right structure at all, the SARS registrations, beneficial ownership, the first annual return, and setting up the books correctly from day one so year-end isn't a rebuild.

CIPC processes online company registrations electronically, and straightforward applications are often finalised quickly. Delays usually come from name reservations that are rejected, or from incomplete director details. We check proposed names and every director's details before filing, which avoids most rejections and the delays they cause.

Related services

Start the company properly

Tell us what the business will do, who the directors and shareholders are, and whether you'll employ staff. We'll quote the full setup.

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