JOHANNESBURG - During the course of its review of the Essential Service list of applications, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has established that certain companies not designated as Essential Services have either fraudulently or negligently applied on the Bizportal website (www.bizportal.gov.za).
The CIPC said in a statement, "As was made clear when the automated certificate was issued by the CIPC, that the provision thereof was based on information provided by the registered Company itself, and that possession thereof does not in itself constitute the right to continue operating during the lockdown period. The operation of any essential service is subject to full compliance with the applicable lockdown regulations and that the company falls within the scope of essential services as defined in the regulations."
In a number of cases, companies have applied and received Essential Service certificates without compliance with the regulated conditions.
"In terms of the applicable regulations during the lockdown, all businesses shall cease operations except for any business involved in the manufacturing, supply and /or provision of an essential service or goods. It is a criminal offence for any business to continue operating during the lockdown period if it is not providing an essential service, as defined in the applicable regulations and direction, unless such business can be operated using work-from-home arrangements. It is also a criminal offence for any business which misrepresents the nature of its operations in order to obtain a CIPC certificate," the CIPC said.
A man wearing face masks to protect himself against coronavirus, walks past people queuing for shopping in Duduza, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, April 2, 2020. South Africa went into a nationwide lockdown for 21 days in an effort to mitigate the spread to the coronavirus. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
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