Government measures in key jurisdictions 4th edition - Flipbook - Page 122
SouthAfrica
Company
law matters
Have any measures
been put in place to
accommodate social
distancing (such as
remote general
meetings)?
•
Extension of certain prescribed time periods under tax Acts in which the lockdown period will be
regarded as days that have no legal effect and will not be counted for purposes of the calculation of
certain time periods. In this regard, the lockdown period is defined as the period of lockdown
between 23h59 on 26 March 2020 until 23h59 on 30 April 2020.
•
Due to the restrictions on the domestic sale of alcoholic beverages, payments of excise tax due in
August 2020 and September 2020 are deferred by 90 days without interest or penalties for excisecompliant businesses.
•
The original 90 day deferral period granted in respect of excise tax payments due on tobacco products
in May 2020 and June 2020 have been extended to a period of 150 days, without interest or penalties.
As such, an additional 60 days have been added to the initial 90 day relief period granted.
•
Three-month deferral for the filing and first payment of carbon tax liabilities, which would otherwise
have been due by 31 July 2020, has been deferred until 31 October 2020.
•
Tax-deductible limit for donations, currently 10% of taxable income, is increased to 20% in respect of
donations to the Solidarity Response Fund during the 2020/21 tax year.
•
Certain corporate tax measures that were going to be introduced in terms of which the deductibility
of interest expenses, as well as the utilisation of assessed losses, would have been limited will be
postponed to later legislative cycles.
•
An expansion of access to living annuities for a period of four months from 01 May 2020 - 31 August
2020.
•
Relief for larger businesses and additional relief for tax-compliant SMMEs. The relief is not enshrined
in legislation, but takes the form of an invitation to apply on the revenue authorities' website, which
applications can be made by way of email.
•
The Companies Act allows shareholder and board meetings to be held by way of electronic
communication, provided that all parties are able to participate in the meeting and communicate
concurrently without an intermediary. Meetings were already often held, in whole or in part, by
electronic means prior to Covid-19, however, the prevalence thereof has increased substantially since the
start of the pandemic.
•
In addition to the holding of meetings by electronic means, the Companies Act permits both shareholder
and board resolutions to be adopted by means of round robin written resolutions in appropriate
circumstances without the need to hold a meeting.
•
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange ("JSE") has also partnered with The Meeting Specialist to launch the
first virtual annual general meetings ("AGM") for listed companies in the RSA to enable clients to
engage with shareholders while the country is faced with tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
•
If a company holds a virtual-only AGM and does not allow shareholders to ask questions in real time,
without moderation, or requires all questions to be submitted in advance, that meeting will not
constitute an AGM for the purposes of the Act.
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122