Compliance
Most business are unaware of all the requirements they need to comply with, and even when they are, it is a costly and sometimes resource-intensive exercise.
Compliance is hardest to achieve for small and medium business because of a lack of resources and not having established HR practices which clearly define roles and key performance indicators for employees. The business owner’s key focus is usually growing the business while he relies on his employees to see to the administrative and compliance part of the business. In the end no one knows exactly what the business needs to comply with, how to comply and when to make submissions; often until it is unfortunately too late.
Below is a list of the standard compliance requirements that businesses should be complying with (these exclude industry specific requirements such as CIDB etc.):
| COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENT | WHO NEEDS TO COMPLY? | HOW TO COMPLY | WHEN IS IT REQUIRED? | WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NON-COMPLIANCE? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIPC Annual Returns | All legally registered entities | Submit declaration of turnover annually | Every year in the anniversary month of registration | Penalty fees and deregistration of the entity |
| Income Tax | Every entity that is trading, even those not trading must submit zero returns | Submit ITR14 annually & PROVSA Bi-Annually | ITR14 is due 12 months after year end & PROVSA is due 6 months from start of the year and at year end. | R250 for every year outstanding |
| VAT | All entities turning over more than R1 million per annum | Submitting your VAT returns on e-Filing | Every two months Monthly for entities turning over more R30 million | 10% penalty fees plus interest | PAYE | All entities with employees above the PAYE threshold | Submission of EMP201 monthly to SARS | Before the 7th of every month, for the preceding month | Penalty fees of 10% for each late return | UIF Contributions | All entities with at least one employee | Submit monthly returns to SARS or directly to UIF | Monthly before the 7th of every month, for the preceding month | Penalty fees of 10% for each late return | UIF Declarations | All entities with at least one employee. Registration with Labour for UIF is required in addition to UIF with SARS | Monthly declarations to the Department of Labour | Monthly before the 5th of every month, for the preceding month | Employees are unable to claim maternity and unemployment benefits if the entity is not registered with Labour | SDL Contributions | Employers with an annual payroll spend of R500 000 and above | Pay 1% of employees salary through the EMP201 | Monthly before the 7th of every month, for the preceding month | Penalty fees and inability to claim mandatory grant from SETA | COIDA Returns | All entities with at least one employee | Submit returns for assessment. Assessment rates differ based on the industry and size of payroll | Annually, between from the 01st to the 31st of March. Usually with a grace period to April or May | Penalties of 10% of the outstanding returns and employees cannot claim if they get injured on the job | Employment Equity Report | All employers with more than 50 employers, or over the sectoral turnover threshold | Submit Employment Equity Report and Plan | Annually between 01 October and 15 January | Penalty fees of the greater of R2 700 000.00 or 10% of turnover | Skills Development Report (WSP/ATR) | All employers who are required to be registered for SDL as above | Submit your Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report (WSP/ATR) | Submit to the SETA the company is registered with by 30 April each year | Forfiet 20% of your SDL contributions & B-BBEE training spend cannot be recognized by Verification Analysts if the WSP/ATR was not submitted |
Complying to these requirements will save you thousands in late submissions fees. It could also make the difference between that missed proposal submission and success.
