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Johannesburg - The implementation of the Companies Act and the Consumer Protection Act have been delayed until April next year to give the government and others time to get ready to comply with the legislation, the department of trade and industry said on Tuesday.
The decision was made after Minister Rob Davies assessed the "level of readiness of the administrative processes required for smooth implementation", and requests by affected parties to prepare properly for compliance with the laws, the department said.
"This will enable the department to finalise all processes required to effectively administer these two pieces of legislation.
"The department is in the process of finalising regulations which will give effect to both pieces of legislation, and the postponement will allow time for more consultation with stakeholders before finalisation."
The ministry said it recognised that the laws would have a significant impact on business practice. The postponement would allow affected parties to adjust their operations.
The legislation had been due to be implemented in the last quarter of the year.
However, there were repeated warnings that business needed more time to prepare to adhere with the onerous requirements in the Consumer Protection Act in particular.
It was argued that companies would have to make a vast financial investment to devise new sales and marketing, pricing, refunds and accounting policies and procedures; conduct extensive staff training; review and reconsider all contracts and product labelling; and purchase or upgrade information technology systems.
Earlier this month Robby Coelho, a partner at Webber Wentzel law firm said companies did not know how to proceed because the department had missed an April deadline to publish regulations defining how consumers should be treated under the new act.
The legislation is aimed at protecting consumers and is part of a project undertaken in 2004 to reform South Africa's outdated company laws.
The decision was made after Minister Rob Davies assessed the "level of readiness of the administrative processes required for smooth implementation", and requests by affected parties to prepare properly for compliance with the laws, the department said.
"This will enable the department to finalise all processes required to effectively administer these two pieces of legislation.
"The department is in the process of finalising regulations which will give effect to both pieces of legislation, and the postponement will allow time for more consultation with stakeholders before finalisation."
The ministry said it recognised that the laws would have a significant impact on business practice. The postponement would allow affected parties to adjust their operations.
The legislation had been due to be implemented in the last quarter of the year.
However, there were repeated warnings that business needed more time to prepare to adhere with the onerous requirements in the Consumer Protection Act in particular.
It was argued that companies would have to make a vast financial investment to devise new sales and marketing, pricing, refunds and accounting policies and procedures; conduct extensive staff training; review and reconsider all contracts and product labelling; and purchase or upgrade information technology systems.
Earlier this month Robby Coelho, a partner at Webber Wentzel law firm said companies did not know how to proceed because the department had missed an April deadline to publish regulations defining how consumers should be treated under the new act.
The legislation is aimed at protecting consumers and is part of a project undertaken in 2004 to reform South Africa's outdated company laws.
