CIPC Annual Return - AFS or FAS?

A lot of questions have arisen recently for companies wanting to submit annual returns with CIPC. Which option do I use to update, AFS or FAS? How do I know in which category my company falls?

Stress no more...

October 2019, CIPC has issued a notice, Notice No. 67 of 2019, on how to differentiate which option you must use to submit.

The below criteria will help you to make the determination:

1. If you are required by the Companies Act 71 of 2008 to produce audited Annual Financial Statements, then you must use the AFS option. Companies that are required to produce audited AFSs are those that fall within the following categories:

a. Public Companies

b. Companies with explicit stipulation in their Memoranda of Incorporation (MOIs) that the should audit.

c. Companies whose Public Interest Score is 350 or more.

d. Companies that, in the ordinary course of their primary activities, hold assets in fiduciary capacity for persons not related to them, and the aggregate value of such assets held at any time during the financial year exceeds R5 million.

2. Companies that voluntarily audit their AFS may choose either option.

How do I calculate my Public Interest Score?

1 point for every employee (equal to the average number of employees during the financial year)

1 point for every R1 million of third party liability at the end of the financial year (third party liability means debts outstanding, creditors, instalment sales, etc. owing to outside parties)

1 point for every R1 million of turnover (or portion thereof) during the financial year

1 point for every individual with a beneficial interest in the company’s securities (if a for-profit company) and in the case of a non-profit company, 1 point for every member of the company (or who is a member of an association that is a member of the company).

If you are still unsure on how to submit your annual return, please feel free to contact us or leave your details in the comments below.