CIPC annual return deadlines, fees and the beneficial ownership hard-stop

A company must file its CIPC annual return within 30 business days of its anniversary of incorporation; a close corporation must file within the anniversary month and the month after. CIPC will not accept an annual return unless beneficial ownership information is up to date first, and missing annual returns for consecutive years starts the deregistration process.

Reviewed by TefCo Compliance Research — last verified 15 September 2026.

In short

Companies file within 30 business days of the incorporation anniversary; close corporations file within the anniversary month up to the month thereafter.
Annual return filing is blocked until beneficial ownership information has been filed or confirmed — the two obligations are not independent.
Filing fees scale with turnover, and a late-lodgement penalty applies on top of the base fee.
Non-compliant companies and close corporations are referred for deregistration on a continuous, automated basis.

The filing window

Under the Companies Act 71 of 2008, section 33, every company (including external companies) and close corporation must file an annual return with CIPC to confirm it is still trading or intends to trade. Companies must file within 30 business days after the anniversary date of incorporation. Close corporations file within the anniversary month of incorporation up to the month thereafter. [4](https://www.cipc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Info_Guide_Annual_returns_V1.4.pdf)

The return is filed and paid for electronically via the CIPC annual returns portal, not on paper.

Fees by turnover band

CIPC annual return fees (electronic filing)
Entity	Turnover band	On-time fee	Late lodgement penalty
Close corporation	Under R50 million	R100	R150 per late lodgement
Close corporation	R50 million and above	R4,000	R150 per late lodgement (where filed more than 30 days after anniversary)

Company (Pty Ltd / NPC) fee bands scale by turnover in a similar way, with the lowest band around R100 on time. CIPC's own annual return calculator on the filing portal gives the fee for a specific enterprise number and turnover, and that figure should be treated as authoritative over any third-party table.

Beneficial ownership must be filed first

Since the beneficial ownership hard-stop took effect, an annual return cannot be lodged unless beneficial ownership information has already been filed or confirmed for that entity. Practice Note 2 of 2025 states this directly: entities not compliant with beneficial ownership declarations are prohibited from filing annual returns, so one cannot be done without the other. [link](https://www.cipc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PRACTICE-NOTE-DEREGISTRATIONS.pdf)

This is filed under the Companies Act 71 of 2008, section 56, read with the Companies Amendment Regulations made under the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022.

If an annual return filing is being rejected for no obvious reason, check beneficial ownership status first — it is now the single most common cause of a blocked filing.

What happens if you miss it

CIPC treats a missed annual return as evidence the entity is no longer trading and begins the deregistration process. CIPC has stated that referral of non-compliant companies and close corporations for annual return and beneficial ownership non-compliance is a continuous, automated process, not a once-off annual event.

A large bulk deregistration ran from 2 to 23 December 2024, with final deregistration at the beginning of February 2025, and CIPC has confirmed this pattern continues.

Consequences of final deregistration
Effect	Detail
Legal personality	The company or close corporation ceases to exist
Bank accounts	Frozen by the relevant bank
Director/member liability	Directors and members can become personally liable for the entity's debts
Re-instatement	Requires a Notice of Re-instatement (CoR40.5) and payment of all outstanding annual returns

Frequently asked

Can a dormant company skip its annual return?

No. The obligation applies whether or not the entity is trading — a dormant company still files at the lowest turnover band to stay on the register.

What if beneficial ownership has never been filed for an older company?

It must be filed or confirmed before the annual return will be accepted. CIPC's step-by-step beneficial ownership filing guides on its website walk through the online process.

Is CIPC deregistration reversible?

Yes, via reinstatement, but CIPC has said that only entities able to show economic activity or economic value at the time of final deregistration will be reinstated, and all outstanding annual returns must still be filed and paid.

Sources

TefCo Corporate Compliance (Pty) Ltd is a compliance management platform, not a legal, tax or advisory firm. This guide is general information, not advice. Fees, dates and thresholds change — confirm current figures with the regulator before you rely on them.