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NEWS DESK
STEGMANNS GOLF DAY 2010 ( UPCOMING)
THE NATIONAL CREDIT ACT
THE FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE ACT 38 OF 2001
Our Annual Charity Golf Day will be held on the 20 th October 2010 at Woodhill Golf Estate. If you are interested in participating in the Golf day or assisting us with sponsorships of any kind , please contact Lynette Brummer on (012) 342 6430 or e-mail : lynette@stegmanns.co.za
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Stegmanns Inc. held our annual golf day at Woodhil Golf Estate on the 14th October 2009 . Throughout the year the staff and firm, through various initiatives, raised money for ABBA House, a division of SA Cares for Life. ABBA House is a home for orphaned babies and babies affected by HIV/AIDS. Stegmanns Inc. managed to raise R30 000.00 to give to this worthy cause. They have various projects including a pregnancy care centre, a home for unwed mothers and skills development projects to assist the mothers in taking care of their children.
Stegmanns Inc. were proud to assist ABBA House and SA Cares for Life in their commendable projects.
__________________________Regulations under the National Credit Act will specify maximum interest rates and transaction fees that can be charged on credit agreements or loans. The ambit of the act is wide and will affect general credit agreements referred to in the Credit Agreements Act and new situations for instance when a person binds himself as a surety for a credit receiver.
The Act aims to protect consumers in the ever expanding credit market by placing new obligations on credit providers. To this end it requires that steps be taken to avoid reckless credit granting, that credit agreements be drafted in plain and simple language and that the cost implications of the agreement are clearly set out.
Although the Act does not lay down specific parameters as to what would constitute reckless credit granting, the credit provider will have to make an assessment in order to determine whether the consumer will be in a position to meet his credit obligations timeously. Credit providers will have to consider all relevant information including the consumer's income and obligations such as other credit agreements, the consumer's general understanding and appreciation of the risks and costs of the proposed credit and the consumer's credit history.
A powerful incentive to avoid reckless credit granting is that a Court may set aside all or part of the consumer's rights and obligations under an agreement found to be made recklessly. The Court may also suspend the force and effect of that agreement until a date determined by the court for the purpose of restructuring the consumer's obligations.
The act provides for the establishment of a National Credit Regulator with whom most types of credit providers will have to register. A failure to register may lead to the credit agreements of such credit provider being declared null and void.
Complaints of consumers and breaches of the Act may be referred to the National Consumer Tribunal which has powers to impose fines of up to R1 million or 10% of the credit grantor's annual turnover, whichever is the greater.
The Act is a lengthy piece of legislation and it is impossible to deal with all the aspects thereof in this article. The full Act can be downloaded at the following address: www.dti.gov.za/ccrdlawreview/creditact2006.htm . It is hoped that this brief overview of the Act will encourage credit providers and consumers to take note of their rights and obligations under the Act and the importance of complying with the provisions of the Act.
For further information contact Erris van Kerken.
The Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001: 04/2008 / Fica Requirements:
The financial Intelligence Act 38 of 2001 compels all financial institutions to establish and verify the identity of existing clients.
To facilitate compliance with FICA, clients are asked to attach the following documentation, especially when applying for a bond.
INDIVIDUAL:
(A passport or driver's license containing the above information will only be accepted with a written reason for the unavailability of the ID document.)
Eg: Utility Bill (Water and lights account or rates and taxes)
Telkom account
Bank Statement
Income Tax document
Insurance documents (car, household or life insurance policies where your physical address appears on the document).INSTITUTIONS:
Company:
Eg: Utility Bill (Water and lights account or rates and taxes)
Telkom account
Bank Statement
Tax InvoiceClose Corporation:
Telkom account
Bank Statement
Valid ID document of all members and all authorized representatives, as well as individual utility bills not older than three months old of all the members and authorized representativesFor any further information about the FICA requirements, please feel free to contact us at Stegmanns Inc.
For further information contact Michelle Horn or Erris van Kerken.
__________________________On the 1st July 2008, the new rates and taxes system, in terms of the Municipal Rates Act will come into effect.
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has indicated that the formula which will be employed for the calculation of the Rates and Taxes of residential properties will be as follows:
Value of Property as assigned in the valuation roll
- R50 000 rebate (subtract)
x 0,0091 (multiply)
/ 12 (divide)
x 0,65 (multiply)
= RATES ON PROPERTY
Confirmation has not yet indicated whether this draft formula will remain unchanged or whether amendments will be made hereto. At this stage it should therefore only be used as a guideline of probable rates payable.
The above formula does not take into account any rebates for certain categories of people such as: indigents, pensioners and physically or mentally disable persons.
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Public enterprises and state organs will require an accreditation certificate to verify the BEE status of their suppliers. It is used to calculate their procurement efficiency and for reporting purposes on spend with BEE compliant entities versus non-BEE compliant entities.
All companies dealing with Public Entities or Organs of State need to be accredited and obtain a Verification Certificate.
The BEE~Matrix Verification solution
The verification process covers seven elements of your business. Qualifying Small Enterprise's (QSE's) can choose to be rated on 5 of the 7 elements and may thus exclude Ownership and Management. A typical Generic and Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE) as approved by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), will be as follows:
Core Component of BEE Indicators Generic
WeightingQSE
Weighting
Ownership
Employment Equity
Preferential ProcurementFor more information: www.beematrix.co.za
Access to information Act 2000 l Disclaimer
Tel: (012) 342 6430 | Fax: (012) 342 5330 | E-mail: law@stegmanns.co.za