Cybercrime: Checks and balances or be held liable
INTRODUCTION Communication in transactions routinely takes place by way of e-mail. It is common for e-mails to be “hacked” by fraudsters. Fraudsters then mislead the person transferring money into believing that the transfer of funds into the fraudster’s bank account is in accordance with the agreement between the transacting parties, this is more commonly […]
Extra caution is required when transacting with government in immovable property transactions
INTRODUCTION Transacting with immovable property in South Africa can be legally complex and precarious. This is especially true for landowners who seek to sell their property, through a written agreement of sale, to any municipality in South Africa. The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in the matter of Merifon (Pty) Ltd […]
Is charging interest really worth it?
Generally, where the payment of money is deferred and interest, a fee or another charge has been raised, one should consider whether the provisions of the National Credit Act, 2005 (the NCA) would apply to that transaction. Over the years parties have been able to avoid the application of the NCA by structuring transactions so […]
Trustees have new duties: Update
INTRODUCTION In our February 2023 circular dealing with amendments to the Trust Property Control Act, 1988, we recorded that, whilst most of the amendments would come into force on 1 April 2023, no commencement date was mentioned in respect of certain of the amendments. The amendments for which no commencement date had been […]
Sidestepping an Arbitration Agreement
INTRODUCTION Arbitration is an alternative private dispute resolution process which is governed by the Arbitration Act, 42 of 1965 (“the Act”). If a party to a contract, which includes an agreement to arbitrate disputes, institutes legal proceedings, the Act provides that the other party may apply to court for the legal proceedings to […]
Estate Planning 2023
As at the 1st March 2023 the relevant rates of tax are as follows: Estate Duty – Estate duty is payable at the rate of 20% of the net value of assets in the estate in excess of the sum of R3 500 000,00. The rate will increase to 25% for estates over R30 […]
Trustees have new duties
INTRODUCTION On 29 December 2022 the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act, No 22 of 2022, was published by the Presidency. The Act, no doubt designed to encourage the Financial Action Task Force not to place South Africa on the grey list, inter alia introduces amendments to the Trust […]
Can an unsuccessful tenderer claim damages from the state – The final word!
The Constitutional Court handed down judgment on 30 November 2022 in answer to this question. In a unanimous judgment, the Constitutional Court had to consider whether a tenderer, deprived of success in a tender by the State’s intentional misconduct, could claim damages in delict for loss of profit. The appeal to the Constitutional […]
Procurement Law Heading into 2023
INTRODUCTION In 2020, the Preferential Procurement Regulations, 2017 (the "2017 Regulations) gazetted in accordance with section 5 of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act No. 5 of 2000 (the Act) came under scrutiny and were found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Appeal. That Court’s decision was taken on appeal to the Constitutional […]
Small Merger Notifications
In the Government Gazette of 14 October 2022, the Competition Commission (the Commission) amended its guideline on small merger notifications (the Guideline). The Guideline comes into effect on 1 December 2022. The Competition Act distinguishes between a small merger, an intermediate merger and a large merger. Large and intermediate merger transactions require mandatory notification and […]