Tag: Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA)

As technology continues to advance rapidly, governments worldwide are grappling with the need to regulate various aspects of the digital realm. South Africa, a leading economy on the African continent, has not been immune to this global trend.

We have published the draft .za registry and registrar licensing regulations that provide details on the requirements to be met by registries and registrars to be licensed, the steps to be taken when applying for the renewal of the license, and how to address contraventions of the license conditions.

As we move further into the digital age, paperless systems are becoming a more appealing way to deal with document management and storage. Instead of physical filing systems and cabinets taking up space, a document management system (DMS) enables you to store and organise your important documents in an electronic archive that only permissioned users to access and edit.

Too often, taxpayers seem to forget that the most important aspect of dealing with SARS is to ensure that they can discharge their burden of proof. As a taxpayer, it is on you to provide SARS with the relevant material that, on a balance of probabilities, supports your position. 

Customer expectations are evolving faster today than ever before. That’s hardly surprising. In an always-on world where people have devices with them all the time, they’re exposed to great digital experiences on a daily basis. When a customer has a great experience in one sector, they expect the same from all of their service providers. 

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but in an ever-growing digital world, this small but mighty weapon may well be on its way to extinction. Signing on the dotted line, may become a dying art. From stone tablets to ancient Egyptian manuscripts, signatures in various forms have been used to authenticate transactions since time immemorial.

Given the importance of a Will as a key component of any estate plan, it's worth the relatively minor investment of time and money to ensure that you get it 100% right. After all, your Will plays a fundamental role in ensuring that the solid estate plan you've spent so many hours developing is put into action on your death, without undue delays, unexpected costs or negative impacts on those you care about.

On 22 June 2020, the effective commencement of the Protection of Personal Information Act 2013 (POPI) was gazetted as 1 July 2020.

If there is one thing that the national lockdown has highlighted, it is the need for South African law to recognise electronic signatures to authenticate important legal documents such as Last Wills and Testaments.