Tag: liquidation

A few years ago, several well-known short-term insurance companies took legal action against an intermediary company due to the damages they incurred as a result of the intermediary's collapse. The intermediary, presently in liquidation, was responsible for the collecting and accounting of premiums owed to the insurers.

South Africa is currently experiencing challenging political and economic conditions, which has a direct impact on the financial and trading performance of businesses. Vulnerabilities to external shocks have also converged at the worst possible time in our post-pandemic economy, with the impact rapidly manifesting in financing becoming more difficult to secure, more expensive and dwindling foreign direct investment.

We are living in a time of economic uncertainty. Inflation is skyrocketing, Eskom is loadshedding, and food prices are the highest they’ve been in 14 years.  These conditions are putting a lot of strain on business owners, and some tough decisions regarding the future may need to be made.

Rolling blackouts and the recently imposed 18.65% Eskom tariff hikes from April next month are likely to place additional stress on the South African consumer and businesses to the extent that further bankruptcies are inevitable. With the prospect of higher interest rates, low growth and still high inflation, many companies could face corporate failures particularly in the early part of 2023.

Given the number of fraudsters and chance-takers in today’s market, hesitancy on the part of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is present and well-understood. Rather than simply handing out refunds to every VAT claimant without careful scrutiny, the SARS official appointed to the matter is obligated to correctly apply the law, even though it may take a little longer than expected.

The process of ‘business rescue’, as outlined in the Companies Act, has become heavily stigmatised in South Africa, leading to undue strain on corporates and an overall less healthy business environment. Companies, like people, can get 'sick' from time to time. When this occurs, a business is said to be suffering from 'financial distress', a condition caused by various factors.

As pandemic restrictions slowly ease, SA’s economy is being imbued with a fresh sense of hope for a better 2022. Recovery after the virus-induced downswing is sorely needed - Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows that the total number of liquidations in the country increased by a staggering 46.2% in the second quarter of 2021, compared with the same period the year before.

Is it possible for creditors to apply for the winding up of a South African branch of a foreign company (an external company), even if the foreign holding company remains solvent, since the two entities are legally one and the same entity?

In a recent judgment, Joseph v Killarney Engineering (Pty) Ltd and others (JR 586 18), the Labour Court found that it did not have jurisdiction to determine review proceedings for a liquidated company if the person who instituted the legal proceedings failed to deliver the necessary notice to the liquidators.

The captain of Ship SA, President Cyril Ramaphosa, can surely see the iceberg that we are heading for and one can almost hear the call go out for us to 'brace for impact'. The iceberg is an economy that is in crisis – an unemployment rate of 42% (using the expanded definition), GDP growth projections down by 7.8%, tax revenue projections at R304 billion less than originally budgeted for, a budget deficit of R709 billion for 2020/21, a current debt to GPD level of 81.8% and debt service costs (interest) currently amounting to 21c in every tax Rand collected.