Deregister a company with our professional assistance
For whatever reason you wish to deregister a company, there are specified regulations to follow to do so successfully with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). To prove to the CIPC that you are no longer doing business, we would follow the deregistration process of declaring your status and proving it with relevant documentation.
Our team can assist with professional secretarial services to ensure that your company deregistration is done effectively.
What is company deregistration?
This process declares that the company in question is no longer conducting business and no longer has any assets or liabilities. Any company may request to be deregistered by the CIPC provided the company:
- has ceased to continue with trade;
- has no assets or can no longer trade as a result of inadequate assets;
- is no longer making reasonable profits or is being liquidated.
Deregistration can also be automatically triggered when a company fails to submit two or more successive annual returns to the CIPC.
Voluntary and automatic deregistration from the CIPC
The process of filing of annual returns confirms to the CIPC that your entity is still conducting business and ensures your active status. Companies that no longer wish to trade must formally submit a request to deregister to the CIPC. Annual return filings must be up to date for voluntarily deregistration. Automatic deregistration can occur should a company fail to submit its annual returns.
Why maintaining CIPC registration is essential:
- An unregistered entity can no longer trade or enter legally binding business transactions
- The registered name becomes available for 3rd parties to use
- Assets owned by the entity can be forfeited to the State
To avoid any of these unpleasant situations, trust our team for professional secretarial services to assist with your business’s annual returns to the CIPC. More information on how our team can assist with your annual returns.
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How to deregister a company with LMS
To successfully deregister a company, a letter must be written and sent to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). We can assist with professionally compiling this letter and including all necessary information. In order to validate your request, the letter sent to the CIPC will state the following information:
- The company is no longer trading
- The company has no assets or no reasonable profitability
- Registered Tax number
The CIPC requires that this deregistration letter be signed by each active member of the company or the third-party requesting the application. Along with compiling this letter, the experts at LMS will compile all the requested supporting documents for the CIPC to successfully process changes to the company’s status. Once completed, your company deregistration can take up to 6 months for the CIPC to process.
Should you wish to have your company re-instated, it is possible under the following conditions:
- The company was still operating at the time of deregistration
- Immovable property is correctly registered under the name of the business
- It is in the creditors’ best interest
If you wish to re-instate your deregistered company or wish to register an old company anew, we can assist with professional secretarial services to ensure that you meet all necessary compliance requirements, complete and construct all paperwork correctly and ensure all time-related deadlines are met.
Considerations for a voluntary deregistration
Deregistration causes unclaimed property to move to the state’s ownership, the termination of active contracts and the surrendering of debt. As a result, it is essential to wrap up all contractual obligations as voluntary deregistration cannot be completed if the company owns assets or has outstanding liabilities or other obligations.
It is also important to remember that all liabilities of former directors or shareholders remain the same and will continue to be enforced despite a company’s deregistration.
If you need to deregister a company, our professional secretarial services are here to assist with a hassle-free process. Contact our team here.
