Essential services businesses require new CIPC certification for extended Covid-19 lockdown

Companies which are registered through the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission’s (CIPC) BizPortal to perform essential services during the lockdown period are required to have new certificates from the BizPortal website for the extended period, which came into effect on Friday, April 17.

The certificate will be sent via email using the details provided at the time of registration, and will also be available for download. Companies will receive the certificates from April 17.

In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry said the new certificate will clearly state that it is for the extended lockdown period, beginning April 17. South African Police Service officials will be told which certificates to look for.

Certificates issued before April 17 will no longer be valid and must be disposed of. To provide time for businesses to adjust to the new requirements, the new certificates must be displayed from start of business on Monday, April 20.

The department reminds the public that possession of the CIPC certificate is still subject to a company fully complying with the applicable lockdown regulations and is a record of the company’s details, and does not in itself constitute the right to continue operating during the period.

Only businesses which provide essential services in terms of the lockdown regulations, as amended, issued by the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma may continue their operations during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The CIPC certificate is a reference to the legal registration of the company in terms of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008) and a record of registration to the CIPC. It does not give a firm or individual a right to trade if that company is not an essential service as defined in the lockdown regulations.

The department clarifies that the registration portal is only for companies registered in terms of the Companies Act. Other essential service providers, such as healthcare professionals registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, sole proprietors who provide essential goods and services (small business owners and spaza shops) and small-scale farmers will not register through the BizPortal. These businesses will not have a CIPC certificate but must still comply with the provisions of the lockdown regulations.

Where the CIPC finds that certificates have been issued to companies which do not meet the definitions of an essential service, such certificates will be revoked and the company will be referred to the South African Police Services. False declaration by a company is a criminal offence and will result in prosecution in terms of lockdown regulations.

The regulations for the extended lockdown have also clarified that the transportation of liquor is prohibited, except where alcohol is required for industries producing hand sanitisers, disinfectants, soap, alcohol for industrial use and household cleaning products.

To confirm if your business complies, consult the necessary regulation at www.gov.za