{"id":38424,"date":"2025-01-13T10:20:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T08:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stbb.co.za\/dev2\/?p=38424"},"modified":"2025-01-13T10:27:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T08:27:01","slug":"newsflash-corporate-law-update-amendments-to-the-companies-act-are-now-operational","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stbb.co.za\/dev2\/newsflash-corporate-law-update-amendments-to-the-companies-act-are-now-operational\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsflash | Corporate law update: Amendments to the Companies Act are now operational"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published via presidential proclamation in the Government Gazette<\/u><\/a> over the festive break, various provisions of the Companies Amendment Act<\/u><\/a>, as well as the entire Companies Second Amendment Act<\/u><\/a>, are now operational.<\/p>\n

These statutes, which were assented to in July 2024, amend numerous aspects of the Companies Act (\u2018the principal Act\u2019) and introduce new provisions with the aim of strengthening South Africa\u2019s corporate law regime.<\/p>\n

Intended to improve corporate transparency and increase companies\u2019 disclosure requirements, the Companies Amendment Act clarifies (some) of the principal Act\u2019s technical provisions. For instance, it widens the definition of \u2018securities\u2019, enhances the provisions regulating social and ethics committees, amends takeover provisions applicable to private companies, and empowers a court to validate the creation, allotment, or issuing of shares. These and other amendments are purportedly designed to minimise bureaucratic hurdles in order to streamline business dealings.<\/p>\n

A product of the recommendations made by the Zondo Commission of Enquiry into State Capture, the Companies Second Amendment Act lengthens the time bars for director liability. It extends the time bar for applications requesting a court to declare a director delinquent or place them under probation from 24 months to 60 months. In addition, the three-year time limit in which to institute proceedings to recover losses incurred by a director or prescribed officer \u2013 flowing from a breach of fiduciary duties \u2013 may now be extended by a court where good cause is shown.<\/p>\n

Notably, some amendments to the Act are not yet operational and are expected to come into effect sometime in 2025. Specifically, new provisions applicable to public and state-owned companies, which govern the preparation and presentation of a remuneration report and remuneration policy for shareholder approval, including the disclosure of pay gaps, and revised provisions expanding access to company information, such as annual financial statements, have not yet commenced.<\/p>\n

Our corporate and commercial law attorneys have the knowledge and experience to advise on the practical implications of these amendments. For skilled and efficient legal assistance, contact our experts at commercial@stbb.co.za\/dev2<\/u><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published via presidential proclamation in the Government Gazette over the festive break, various provisions of the Companies Amendment Act, as well as the entire Companies Second Amendment Act, are now operational. These statutes, which were assented to in July 2024,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":364,"featured_media":38416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[104,137,108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-published-corporate-and-commercial-law","category-latest","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNewsflash | Corporate law update: Amendments to the Companies Act are now operational - STBB<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stbb.co.za\/dev2\/newsflash-corporate-law-update-amendments-to-the-companies-act-are-now-operational\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Samantha Smith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/newsflash-corporate-law-update-amendments-to-the-companies-act-are-now-operational\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/newsflash-corporate-law-update-amendments-to-the-companies-act-are-now-operational\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Samantha Smith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/39cb442bd013a183d4683b0b32944575\"},\"headline\":\"Newsflash | Corporate law update: Amendments to the Companies Act are now operational\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-13T08:20:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-13T08:27:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/newsflash-corporate-law-update-amendments-to-the-companies-act-are-now-operational\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":345,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/newsflash-corporate-law-update-amendments-to-the-companies-act-are-now-operational\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stbb.co.za\\\/dev2\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/HeaderSkyScrapers.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles Published - 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