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When considering the commencement of business or investment in South Africa, one needs to consider which vehicle will be best suited to the circumstances. Factors to be taken into account include the number of participants in the business, how the business is to be operated from a management and control point of view, achieving limited liability for participants, the requirement of perpetual succession and, importantly, income tax considerations.
It can now be accepted that sales of "letting enterprises" do not have to be advertised in terms of Section 34 of the Act.
During November 2005 a discussion paper was released by the South African Revenue Service ("SARS") with a view to tightening the provisions of the current general anti-avoidance rule ("GAAR") in a South African context.
The Promotion of Access to Information Act No. 2 of 2000 ("the Information Act") has already received much attention from our courts. In a recent unreported judgment in the Witwatersrand Local Division, further principles concerning the manner in which information may be requested and refused were elucidated by the court.
The Competition Appeal Court (CAC) recently reversed the Competition Tribunal's decision to conditionally approve the merger between Momentum Group Limited (Momentum) and African Life Health (ALH), in which Momentum acquired the entire share capital of ALH.
Non compliance with some of these Acts can attract penalties and even prison sentences.
Creditors who do not have security are called unsecured creditors, and they are the ones who lose the most when companies are liquidated. The effect of giving security is to reduce the amount which will be available in the free residue.
The Corporate Laws Amendment Bill proposes to introduce certain changes to the Companies Act which will impact on companies in a number of important ways.
The advent of this fund opens the door to limitless opportunities for companies who find themselves in distress.
National Credit Act sets out new parameters with regard to assessing whether the grant of credit to a consumer was made on a reckless basis.
The Bill is a milestone in South Africa as it aims to provide a legal framework for consumer protection.
Drafting a private company's articles of association without proper care can have problematic consequences. It is important to consider the right-of-pre-emption clause very closely when drafting the articles of association.
The Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) codes of good practice will not directly affect the vast majority of Gauteng’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These businesses will be exempted from the proposed empowerment legislation due to increased turnover caps.
Franchising is a business model which has proved to be a very successful model and is enjoying increasing popularity throughout the world. In America, franchising is responsible for over forty percent of all retail sales. Notwithstanding the success of franchising globally, franchising in South Africa has not yet reached its full potential. As a business model, it only really started taking off from the 1960’s onward.
The South African competition authorities have recently had cause to consider two hostile takeovers. The first was the attempted hostile takeover of Gold Fields by Harmony; the second, the takeover of Johnnic by HCI.
Until the introduction of the Corporate Laws Amendment Act of 2006 that came into operation on 14 December 2007 a company was unable to purchase its own shares.
There is no reason why a company cannot give financial assistance to a third party to acquire shares in the company. This satisfies the need for the South African economy to unlock the wealth in many companies and to empower previously disadvantaged individuals to gain access to that capital.
An exchange of e-mails between two parties may constitute a binding contract depending on the specificity of the dialogue within the e-mails
This element of the Codes deals with your supply Chain and measures the extent to which you buy goods and services from BEE compliance suppliers and black-owned entities.
The article provides a summary of the amendments to the Companies Act 1973 introduced by this new Act insofar as they are relevant to the functioning of the Audit Committee of "Widely Held Companies" (i.e. public companies) and of related issues.
This article discusses when employers may be held liable for accidents caused when their employees are driving while talking on a phone
With effect from 1 July 2008, a new Securities Transfer Tax ("STT") replaced the previous Stamp Duty and Uncertificated Securities Tax ("UST") which were payable on the transfer of unlisted and listed shares, respectively.
Have you thought about your business succession strategy? Simply put, what is going to happen if you 'die at your desk'?
Both the Close Corporations Act and the Companies Act have similar provisions that grant a court power to attach personal liability for the debts of a corporation or company to its members or directors if they are knowingly party to reckless or fraudulent trading by the corporation or company.
The Companies Act was recently amended to provide that a company may now provide finance to a purchaser to take up shares in the company
Due to the current trying economic times, companies will be required to perform a balancing act to ensure that their businesses survive the harsh economic realities facing them, while achieving their BEE targets set out in our empowerment laws.
This article discusses some of the more significant provisions affecting directors that will shortly be introduced by the new Companies Act (Number 71 of 2008).
All businessmen conclude contracts, whether in terms of a formal written contract or a "gentleman's handshake". Businessmen often also wish to cancel contracts when the other party acts in breach of its contractual obligations.
There has been much public debate about company laws as a result of the enactment of the new Companies Act of 2008; and, more recently, the release of the King Code and Report on Governance in South Africa ("King III"), which will become effective on 1 March 2010. But what does King III deal with and how will it apply to business South Africa?
Companies and their bosses could soon be fined up to R1m and face jail time for pollution and damage to the environment, even if it was caused by previous owners, says a Weekend Argus report
A commercial bank accepts in good faith cheques deposited into a client's account
A contract is a written or spoken agreement between people that can be enforced by law.
Every company that existed before 1 May 2011 (called a “pre-existing company”) needs to amend its Memorandum of Articles of Association to conform to the new Companies Act.
If you want to make it absolutely clear that your company will only regard itself bound by a conventional notice, you must stipulate in your contract of employment that 'signed' refers to a hand-written signature
Things you need to know about the new Companies Act, 2008 that commenced on 1 May 2011:
Factoring occurs when a business (“the Client”) enters into an agreement with another business (“the Factor”) in terms of which the Client sells its book debts to the Factor, generally on an ongoing basis.
This article dicusses this form of raising finance
Business rescue: the Companies Act 71 of 2008