Consequences Of Non-Compliance With Director Duties
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (“CIPC”) published Guideline 1 of 2025 in order to “sensitize” directors about the consequences of non-compliance with their duties to a company. In the Guideline, CIPC notes that directors must exercise their powers as a director and perform the functions of a director in good faith, for proper purpose […]
Deconstructing Constructive Dismissal
A recent Labour Court case Makombe v Cape Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists and Others clearly illustrates the test an employee must meet to succeed in a constructive dismissal dispute. The Applicant, Lerato Makombe, is a former pastor of the Cape Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the employer. From the commencement of her […]
Five key things you should know about the taxation of your trust
Trusts are useful for a variety of reasons. However, if they are not used for the right purpose or administered properly, they can turn out to be a headache. Notwithstanding that Treasury has tightened trust tax legislation over the years, there are still tax benefits to be had. The risks that most people face with […]
When is it “just and equitable” to wind up a solvent company
When is it “otherwise just and equitable” to wind up a solvent company (or close corporation) in terms of section 81(1)d(iii) of the Companies Act, 2008? Generally, section 81(1)d of the Act provides that a company may be wound up by a court at the instance of a director or a shareholder, or the company […]
South Africa strengthens domestic violence protections with their most recent regulations amendment
On 7 March 2025, South Africa took a major step forward in the fight against domestic violence with a powerful amendment to its Domestic Violence Regulations, 2022. The new provisions, published under Government Notice NR 5966, introduce critical privacy protections for victims, ensuring that their personal information is shielded from abusers. This game-changing amendment strengthens […]
SARS given green light to hold third parties personally liable for tax debts
AUTHOR: GRAEME PALMER PUBLICATION DATE: MARCH 31, 2025 Gold Kid Trading (Pty) Ltd (“Gold Kid”) refine precious metals including gold. They purchase unwrought gold bars and jewelry containing gold from suppliers who are registered VAT vendors and would have paid VAT on the purchase price. The gold is refined and sold to South African clients […]
Intellectual property and commercial transactions and the need to transfer IP rights
Intellectual Property (“IP”) refers to intangible creations of the human mind. These are categorised and protected according to the type of creation. In South Africa, the main categories of IP include Trade Marks, Copyright, Patents, Designs and Trade Secrets. Each form of IP affords the owner thereof an exclusive right or monopoly in respect of […]
ConCourt weighs in on Voluntary Disclosure Agreements with SARS
An employee of the Medtronic Group embezzled R537 million. She exploited the group’s weak accounting system by making payments from one of the group’s bank accounts to her late husband’s bank account and concealed the crime by submitting false VAT returns to SARS. Consequently, Medtronic sought reimbursements from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for […]
Possible penalties imposed on building owners: How energy efficient is your building?
The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy has, under section 19(1)(b) of the National Energy Act, published regulations for the Mandatory Display and Submission of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) for Buildings in Notice 700 of Government Gazette 43792 of 8 December 2020. The regulations were further amended on 25 November 2023 to extend the compliance […]
The essence of expert and factual evidence at trials
In the recent matter of Schol Property and Consulting v Kwashilia Gajjar the Eastern Cape High Court had to consider an appeal brought by Schol Property and Consulting (“the Defendant”) against the order of the trial court which found the Defendant negligent and therefore liable for such damages as may be proved by Kwashilia Gajjar […]