How to check a South African company before you ship

To check a South African company, confirm that it exists in the official company registry, that the person you talk to can act for it, and that its tax status, address and trading history match what it told you. No single search proves a buyer is safe. This guide lists the public sources you can search yourself and the limits of each.

Key facts

• The company registry in South Africa is run by CIPC, which offers company search on its website (CIPC).
• CIPC lists disclosure fees such as R30.00 for an electronic disclosure certificate and R50.00 for a certificate on company information for a company (CIPC fee schedule).
• The National Treasury Central Supplier Database (CSD) holds supplier information for government procurement (CSD).
• South Africa implements UN Security Council financial sanctions through the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).

What should I check first?

Check that the legal entity exists and matches the name on your contract. A trading name, a website or a business card is not a legal entity. You need the registered name, the registration number and the registered address, and you should compare them with every document the buyer sends you.

Ask for the registration number and the person's role up front. A genuine buyer expects the question.

How do I search the company registry?

You can search the registry yourself through the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Its website offers "company search, IP search, corporate and close corporate search" under "Search our registry" (CIPC).

Search by company name or registration number, then note the registered name, status (for example in business or deregistered), registered address and listed directors. Compare each with what the buyer told you. Official certificates cost money, for example R30.00 for an electronic disclosure certificate according to the CIPC fee schedule.

Official CIPC registry extracts are not part of a B2B.Africa report today: every report names which sources were checked and which were not, each with its source and date, and where a datapoint is unavailable the report says so instead of guessing. Treat this step as yours — do it yourself or through a licensed provider.

What other public records can I use?

Use records that show the company deals with the state and with tax. The three below are free to read about, and each tells you something different.

• Central Supplier Database (CSD). Companies that want to supply the South African government self-register on the National Treasury database, which holds supplier information for organs of state (CSD). Presence there says the company has registered to sell to government; it is not a credit rating.
• SARS tax compliance. A buyer can show a tax compliance status from SARS (SARS). Ask the buyer for it, and where possible confirm it with SARS or through your bank rather than relying on a PDF alone.
• Company website and domain. Check that the website domain, email domain and company name agree, and how long the domain has existed.

How do I check sanctions?

Screen the company and its directors against the sanctions lists you are legally required to use. In South Africa the Financial Intelligence Centre implements financial sanctions in terms of resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, and publishes a Targeted Financial Sanctions section on its site (FIC).

Your own obligations may go beyond that list, for example under US, EU or UK rules depending on your business. Ask your compliance adviser which lists apply to you. Sanctions screening is explained in more detail in our guide to sanctions screening for South African trade.

How much time should a check take?

How quickly a buyer answers is informative too: a company that avoids giving a registration number or a registered address is telling you something. Keep a short file for each buyer with the date you checked, what you searched, and what you found. If you later need to explain why you shipped, that record is useful.

What are the red flags?

These patterns appear often in trade fraud and are reasons to slow down, not proof of wrongdoing:

• The registered name or number does not match the one used in emails and invoices.
• The company asks you to ship or release goods before agreed payment terms are met.
• The bank account is in a different name or country from the buyer.
• The contact uses only free email addresses, or the domain is very new.
• The buyer pressures you with urgency or offers unusually large orders without detail.

Can a paid report help?

A report can save time by collecting the same public records in one place, but it cannot prove intentions or guarantee a deal. B2B.Africa's Quick Company Check, with a price listed on its pricing page, covers one company's public details, domain control and sanctions screening, each data point with its source and date; registration is checked when the company provides documents. Compare it with doing the searches above yourself.

What should I do before shipping?

Combine the checks: confirm the entity, confirm the person, check tax and sanctions, then agree payment terms that protect you, such as payment in advance or a documentary method arranged with your bank. Get advice from a lawyer or your bank before relying on any single check. This article is general information, not legal advice.