ICASA licence fee, annual return and RICA deadlines for telecoms and ICT providers

A licensed broadcasting, electronic communications services (ECS) or electronic communications network services (ECNS) operator has one fixed annual date with ICASA — the licence fee forecast, due by end of April — plus an ongoing, not annual, RICA duty that applies every time a SIM is activated or a service is connected.

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

In short

The annual forecast of licence fees and Universal Service and Access Fund contributions is due on or before the end of April each year.
ICASA issues this requirement by annual general notice under the General Licence Fees Regulations, 2012, so the specific gazette should be checked each year rather than assumed to repeat exactly.
RICA's section 40 duty to record and store subscriber identity information applies at the point a SIM card is activated — it is a continuous operational obligation, not a once-off filing.
The Numbering Plan Fourth Amendment Regulations, 2025 gave licensees a six-month transitional period from July 2026 to implement new number churn and deactivation rules.

The annual forecast: end of April

Schedule 3 of the ICASA General Licence Fees Regulations, 2012 requires Broadcasting, ECS and ECNS licensees to submit an annual forecast of licence fees for the year under review, in the prescribed Schedule 3(1) format, on or before the end of April every year. ICASA restates this obligation by general notice each year — the 2026 notice covering the 2025/2026 forecast was published on 31 March 2026.

This forecast is distinct from the actual licence fee payment itself, which is calculated against a licensee's turnover under the General Licence Fees Regulations. Licensees should confirm the current fee calculation and payment date directly against the year's ICASA notice, since the regulations are amended annually with effect from 1 April.

Recurring ICASA and RICA dates for licensees
Obligation	Timing	Source
Annual forecast of licence fees and USAF contributions	On or before end of April each year	ICASA General Licence Fees Regulations, 2012, Schedule 3; annual General Notice
Licence fee payment	Set annually — check the current year's ICASA notice	General Licence Fees Regulations, as amended annually from 1 April
RICA subscriber information recording	At point of SIM activation / service connection — continuous duty	RICA Act 70 of 2002, section 40

ICASA amends the General Licence Fees Regulations effective 1 April most years — always check the current-year amendment before calculating a fee.

RICA is a standing duty, not a filing date

Section 40 of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act 70 of 2002 prohibits a mobile cellular electronic communications service provider from activating a SIM card unless it has first recorded and stored prescribed information: the MSISDN number, and — for a South African citizen or lawful permanent resident — full names, identity number and at least one address of the person requesting activation.

There is no annual RICA return in the way there is an ICASA forecast. The obligation is tested at every activation, which is why RICA compliance sits in onboarding and KYC processes rather than a compliance calendar.

RICA itself remains under active constitutional litigation over its interception-authorisation provisions. That does not change the section 40 subscriber-information duty, which is a separate part of the Act.

Numbering and spectrum changes carry their own transitional dates

Where ICASA amends sector-specific regulations — such as the Numbering Plan Fourth Amendment Regulations, 2025, gazetted in mid-2026 — it typically builds in a transitional period (six months, in that case) for licensees to make network and system changes. These transitional deadlines run from the gazette date, not from the licensee's own year end, so they need to be tracked separately from the April forecast cycle.

Frequently asked

Is the end-of-April date for the licence fee forecast or the fee itself?

It is for the forecast — the format under Schedule 3(1) of the General Licence Fees Regulations. The actual fee payable is calculated and invoiced separately under the current year's regulations.

Does RICA require an annual submission to ICASA or the Department of Justice?

No fixed annual RICA return was found for service providers. The section 40 duty is a continuous operational requirement tested at each SIM activation, not a periodic filing.

How much notice do licensees get for a regulatory amendment like the numbering plan changes?

In the 2025/2026 numbering plan amendments, ICASA provided a six-month transitional period from the date of publication in the Government Gazette.

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.