South Africa · Johannesburg
South Africa: the base from which the network is run.
Johannesburg is our group headquarters and the operational centre of the Southern African network. Company registration, employment, payroll, freight and customs are run here by our own team, for clients establishing in South Africa and for cargo and structures that pass through it.
Office
Johannesburg
Status
Group headquarters
Registry
CIPC
Also here
Freight, customs, procurement delivery
Services in this market
What we run in South Africa
Each of these is delivered by our own team here, and each can be taken on its own or as part of the chain.
Company formation in South Africa
Pty Ltd registration with the CIPC, MOI, beneficial ownership, SARS activation and the payroll registrations.
Employer of Record in South Africa
We employ your staff under South African law, run the payroll and hold the statutory registrations.
Work permits and visas
Routes for expatriate staff, legalisation and the employer obligations that follow.
Global payroll
PAYE, UIF, SDL and the monthly cycle, reported with your other markets.
International freight and customs
Air, sea and road into and out of South Africa, with clearance at destination.
Procurement from China and India
Sourcing at origin with delivery into South African warehouses on the same file.
Local context
What operating in South Africa actually requires
South Africa is the most procedurally mature market in our network: registration with the CIPC is largely electronic and beneficial-ownership filing is now part of it. What follows is where foreign companies underestimate the work — tax activation with SARS, the payroll registrations for PAYE, UIF, SDL and COIDA, and a bank account that requires FICA documentation assembled to the bank’s satisfaction rather than the registry’s.
Employment is governed by the BCEA and the LRA, with sectoral determinations and bargaining-council agreements that may bind an employer that never negotiated them. Contracts written for another jurisdiction routinely fall short on notice, leave and termination process.
Why the group is headquartered here
South Africa combines a functioning corporate registry, a deep banking system and the road and port infrastructure that serves Angola, Mozambique and the wider region. It is where a chain that starts in Beijing or Noida most often ends, which is why our largest team is here.
Requirements, contribution rates and processing sequences change. Our office confirms the current position for your case before you commit.
In Johannesburg
- Group headquarters, our largest team
- CIPC, SARS and payroll registrations in one sequence
- Customs clearance and final-mile delivery
- The base for the Southern African corridor
- Telephone: +27 67 386 6383
Common questions
Operating in South Africa
Do we need a South African shareholder or director?
Not for a standard private company: full foreign ownership is permitted and there is no requirement for a resident director. You do need a public officer for tax purposes, and a registered address in the country. Some regulated activities and public procurement carry their own conditions, including B-BBEE considerations, which we assess against your object.
How long before the company can actually trade?
Registration itself is quick; what governs the real date is tax activation, the payroll registrations and the bank account, which run on their own timelines and depend on the documentation being complete. We sequence them in parallel where the market allows it and confirm the current position for your case rather than publishing a figure.
Can you employ people in South Africa before our company exists?
Yes. Our Employer of Record employs them under South African law from day one, with PAYE, UIF and SDL handled, and transfers them into your entity later with continuity of service preserved.
Related
Elsewhere in the network
Begin with what has to be true in South Africa.
A team working, an entity trading, goods cleared, or all three. Set out the objective and we return the sequence, the institutions involved and the division of responsibility.