The network covers South Africa within the Southern Africa region. Payslips there are drawn up in ZAR, and dealings with a local firm are conducted in English, Afrikaans and Zulu.
The business centres where the network is looking for a correspondent as a priority are Johannesburg, Le Cap, Durban, Pretoria.
The country lies outside the European Union and outside the European Economic Area: the A1 certificate has no standing there. Whether the employee remains in the scheme of origin then depends on the bilateral social security agreement, if any, concluded with the sending country; where no such agreement exists, dual affiliation must be expected and budgeted into the assignment.
The answer to this question changes everything: it determines to whom you may entrust your payslips locally, and what you must ask for before signing. It has been verified country by country with the local authorities.
In South Africa, running payroll on behalf of third parties is a regulated activity. It is carried on under the title of Registered Tax Practitioner ; Chartered Accountant (SA), Professional Accountant (SA), Certified Business Accountant (SA), and a registration in force must be produced to you before any engagement.
La paie elle-même n'est pas une profession réservée, mais l'article 240 du Tax Administration Act attrape le prestataire dès qu'il remplit ou aide à remplir une déclaration pour un tiers contre rémunération, ce qui est le cas de tout bureau de paie déposant les EMP201/EMP501. Il doit donc être adhérent d'un organisme de contrôle reconnu et enregistré auprès de SARS. Vérifier le numéro de practitioner (préfixe PR).
South Africa is a third country for Europe, yet its tax administration is among the most integrated on the continent. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) collects wage tax withheld through PAYE, the unemployment insurance contribution and the skills development levy in a single monthly return. A second, separate channel sits with the Department of Employment and Labour for workplace injury cover.
The rand is the currency of pay. English is the language of business and of the administration, alongside ten other official languages, and serves as the drafting language for contracts and payslips.
Payroll is not in itself a reserved profession, but South African tax law catches the provider by another route: as soon as it completes a return for a third party for reward, it must be registered as a tax practitioner with SARS, which presupposes prior membership of a recognised controlling body. Any payroll bureau filing the monthly and annual returns falls within that scope.
Registration as an employer with SARS opens the PAYE system. It goes together with registration with the unemployment insurance fund and, separately, with the compensation fund for workplace injuries, administered by a different department. That last formality is the one foreign employers most often forget.
There remains the decision whether to incorporate a South African company, registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, or to register as a non-resident employer. The second route exists but calls for careful review, particularly on the permanent establishment question.
South African labour law requires the employee to be given written particulars of employment, on a list of items prescribed by statute. Then check whether your activity falls under a sectoral bargaining council or a sectoral determination: these instruments set enforceable minimum conditions regardless of any voluntary membership by the employer.
The monthly return combines the three levies collected by SARS, and a periodic reconciliation matches the returns against the individual certificates issued to employees. The timetable is strict and late filing penalties are automatic.
A documented disciplinary or consultative procedure applies on termination, depending on the ground, under the oversight of a specialist commission. A termination reached without that process is hard to defend, and the burden of proof rests on the employer throughout.
The network asks 9 documents of any firm wishing to represent it in South Africa. The table gives, for each of them, the exact wording in use locally, the body that issues it and the period during which it remains admissible. These are the terms to use in an application to the local administration.
Of these 9 documents, 7 are required of every applicant and 7 have a limited period of validity, the shortest being 3 months. 1 of these documents exist only in South Africa and have no equivalent in the common core of the network.
| Local wording | Issuing body | Validity | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIPC Registration Certificate (CoR 14.3) et Company Disclosure CertificateCIPC Registration Certificate (CoR 14.3) and Company Disclosure Certificate Le CoR 14.3 ne périme pas mais ne reflète que la constitution ; c'est le Disclosure Certificate, édité à la demande, qui montre le statut courant (in business / deregistered), les administrateurs et le dépôt des annual returns. Exiger les deux. | Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) | 3 months Required | Official website |
| SARS Notice of Registration (IT150) et certificats VAT103 / PAYESARS Notice of Registration (income tax, VAT, PAYE) Trois numéros distincts coexistent : impôt sur les sociétés, TVA (obligatoire au-delà de 1 million ZAR de chiffre d'affaires) et PAYE en tant qu'employeur. Un prestataire de paie doit au minimum être enregistré au PAYE et à l'UIF. | South African Revenue Service (SARS) | No expiry Required | Official website |
| Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN / TCS letterTax Compliance Status PIN Le Tax Clearance Certificate papier a été supprimé : SARS délivre désormais un PIN, valable un an, que le tiers utilise pour consulter en temps réel le statut « Compliant » ou « Non-Compliant » de la société. Demander le PIN, pas un certificat. | South African Revenue Service (SARS), via eFiling | 12 months Required | Official website |
| Letter of Good Standing (Compensation Fund, COIDA) et confirmation d'enregistrement UIFCOIDA Letter of Good Standing and UIF registration confirmation La Letter of Good Standing du Compensation Fund est la pièce sociale de référence en Afrique du Sud, exigée dans tous les appels d'offres ; elle est valable jusqu'à la fin de l'exercice du fonds. L'UIF n'émet pas d'attestation formelle : la preuve se fait par le certificat d'enregistrement uFiling et les déclarations UI-19. | Department of Employment and Labour — Compensation Fund (COIDA) et Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF, portail uFiling) | 12 months Required | Official website |
| Professional Indemnity InsuranceProfessional Indemnity Insurance Pas d'obligation légale générale, mais les règles des ordres professionnels (SAICA, SAIPA, CIBA) imposent une RC professionnelle aux membres exerçant en cabinet, et la loi FAIS l'impose aux prestataires de services financiers. Un cabinet sud-africain sérieux la produit sans difficulté. | Assureur agréé par la Prudential Authority ; obligation issue des règles déontologiques de SAICA, SAIPA et CIBA pour les cabinets en exercice public | 12 months Where applicable | Official website |
| SARS Registered Tax Practitioner number (section 240A, Tax Administration Act) via un Recognised Controlling BodySARS registered tax practitioner number via a Recognised Controlling Body Toute personne qui remplit une déclaration pour autrui contre rémunération doit être enregistrée comme tax practitioner : cela vise directement les bureaux de paie qui déposent les EMP201 et EMP501 de leurs clients. Trois conditions cumulatives : appartenance à un Recognised Controlling Body, qualification minimale, absence de condamnation visée à l'article 240(3). | South African Revenue Service ; organismes de contrôle reconnus : SAICA, SAIPA, SAIT, CIBA, IAC, ICBA | 12 months Required | Official website |
| Certified copy of ID document ou passeport des administrateursCertified copy of the directors' ID or passport L'usage sud-africain exige une copie certifiée par un commissioner of oaths datant de moins de trois mois. Les numéros d'identité figurent sur le Disclosure Certificate de la CIPC, ce qui permet le recoupement. | Department of Home Affairs ; certification par un commissioner of oaths | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Information Officer registration with the Information Regulator (POPIA)Information Officer registration with the Information Regulator Depuis l'entrée en vigueur de POPIA, chaque responsable de traitement doit désigner un Information Officer et l'enregistrer sur le portail du régulateur. C'est une pièce facile à obtenir et discriminante : peu de petits cabinets l'ont faite. | Information Regulator (South Africa), au titre de la section 55 de la Protection of Personal Information Act | No expiry Required | Official website |
| B-BBEE Certificate ou Sworn Affidavit (Exempted Micro Enterprise)B-BBEE certificate or EME sworn affidavit Sans effet pour un réseau étranger, mais tout cabinet sud-africain en possède un et il renseigne utilement sur la taille réelle : un affidavit EME signale un chiffre d'affaires inférieur à 10 millions ZAR. | Agence de vérification accréditée par le SANAS ; simple affidavit assermenté pour les EME et QSE à actionnariat noir majoritaire | 12 months Where applicable | Official website |
The first point of vigilance concerns tax vocabulary. The Tax Clearance Certificate no longer exists: it has been replaced by an access code to the tax compliance status, the TCS PIN, which the partner supplies for online verification. A candidate still producing an old certificate is working from outdated material.
The letter of good standing issued by the compensation fund is regularly confused with registration with the unemployment insurance fund. These are two different bodies within the same department, and both pieces of evidence are required.
Tax practitioner registration is, finally, the real quality filter in the South African market. It can be verified with the controlling body the candidate names, and the absence of criminal convictions is already checked upstream by that body, which correspondingly lightens our own review.
Point de vigilance principal : ne plus demander de « Tax Clearance Certificate », supprimé au profit du TCS PIN — un candidat qui en produit un ancien travaille sur une documentation périmée. Deuxième point : la Letter of Good Standing du Compensation Fund est souvent confondue avec l'enregistrement UIF ; ce sont deux organismes différents du même ministère, il faut les deux. Troisième point : l'enregistrement du tax practitioner est le vrai filtre qualitatif, il se vérifie auprès du Recognised Controlling Body déclaré, et l'absence de condamnation pénale y est déjà contrôlée en amont.
The network opens 3 partner slots in South Africa, not one more. No firm is listed there yet: all 3 slots therefore remain open to applications.
No listed partner in South Africa has asked to appear in the public directory. The contact details of a firm are passed on to the client only when an assignment is awarded.
Filing an application does not amount to admission: every request is reviewed one by one. There is no minimum turnover requirement, and the partner selected invoices its fees directly.
Submit an application: we review your file, we check the documents required on the ground and we give you an answer, whether it is positive or not.
In South Africa we require the tax practitioner registration number issued by SARS, backed by membership of a recognised controlling body such as SAICA, SAIPA, SAIT or CIBA. That number is verifiable and forms our first check. The file comprises the registration certificate from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, tax compliance status in the form of a TCS PIN, the letter of good standing from the compensation fund and confirmation of registration with the unemployment insurance fund. A B-BBEE certificate is requested but is not a disqualifying criterion.
Describe your requirement. No firm is listed in South Africa yet: we review the request, then entrust it to a local firm that the network identifies and vets, or to the partner of a neighbouring country covering this territory. Your contact details are passed on to the selected firm alone.
Request a provider in South AfricaMobility is rarely arranged one country at a time. The neighbouring profiles follow the same outline.
These countries account for most of the requests received: each one has, in addition to its profile, six pages devoted to a single aspect of local payroll.
The information gathered on this page comes from the registers, administrations and bodies listed below, consulted when the reference base was compiled. It is given for guidance and does not replace the advice of a professional established in South Africa.