Business
Companies and Other Business Entities Act 2019 with PBC registration
The Companies and Other Business Entities Act (Chapter 24:31) replaced the 1951 Companies Act in 2019 and introduced the private business corporation as a simplified vehicle. Registration is with the Registrar of Companies. Indigenisation requirements have been substantially relaxed since 2018, retained mainly for diamonds and platinum.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Registrar of Companies registers; the High Court hears company and insolvency matters.
- Deadline — Annual return: filed with the Registrar each year
- Deadline — Company re-registration under the 2019 Act was required within the transitional window
Governing law
- Companies and Other Business Entities Act (Chapter 24:31), 2019
- Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act (Chapter 14:33) — as amended, now limited in scope
- Insolvency Act (Chapter 6:07), 2018
In practice
The 2019 Act was a wholesale modernisation, consolidating companies, private business corporations and co-operative rules into one statute, and the 2018 Insolvency Act separately introduced business rescue in place of the older judicial-management regime.