What should I do if a customer discovers my company has been deregistered?

Confirm what the customer has found

A customer may discover the status during supplier onboarding, a payment review or an ordinary company search. Treat the query as a request for reliable evidence. Obtain the result they are referring to and compare the registration number, registered name and status with a fresh official CIPC check.

A similar name can cause confusion, and an old document may no longer reflect the current position. On the other hand, an incorporation certificate proves historical registration, not necessarily current status. Do not send an old certificate as if it disproves a more recent deregistration result.

Save the date of the check and the actual result. Identify the date of final deregistration if that is what the record shows. This creates a starting point for the adviser and helps everyone distinguish verified facts from the assumptions that often arise when a customer raises an urgent concern.

Use the exact status in the response

The CIPC reinstatement guidance distinguishes entities still in a deregistration process from those finally deregistered. The route to address an outstanding filing problem is not necessarily the same as the route to restore a dissolved entity. Ask the adviser to establish which position applies before announcing a solution.

These labels do not replace legal advice about a particular transaction. They help prevent the most basic error: describing a pending step as a completed restoration.

Acknowledge the concern without promising an outcome

Give the customer the company number, the status you have verified and the action being taken. Explain who is handling the matter and what evidence you will provide next. If something is still uncertain, state that uncertainty plainly instead of describing the issue as a harmless system error without proof.

Do not promise that the customer’s onboarding team will accept a pending application or release payment. Their contract and internal requirements may demand specific evidence. Ask them to identify the document or status needed so that the response addresses the actual concern.

Keep a copy of the communication in the recovery file. If several staff members deal with the customer, give them the same verified information and nominate one person to coordinate updates. Inconsistent explanations can damage confidence even while the underlying administrative work is progressing.

Review the customer relationship with the adviser

The Companies Act provisions on dissolution and reinstatement make final deregistration a serious legal event. Obtain advice on the particular agreement, work already performed, unpaid invoices and any new commitments. Do not make a blanket claim that every contract is automatically cancelled or that every past transaction is unaffected.

Prepare a chronology: when the contract was signed, when work was delivered, when invoices were issued and when deregistration occurred. Add any notice the customer has sent. Those dates can matter to the analysis and should come from records rather than memory.

If performance is continuing, identify urgent obligations and obtain advice on how they should be managed. A pause in accepting new orders does not, by itself, resolve duties under an existing agreement. The responsible course depends on the specific facts, including any safety, custody, delivery or refund issues.

Do not solve a status concern by changing the payee informally

It may be tempting to ask the customer to pay a director personally or to use another company’s bank account. That creates new questions about the creditor, authority, tax invoice and discharge of the customer’s debt. Do not present it as a routine workaround.

If an alternative legal arrangement is being considered, have it properly assessed and documented, with the customer’s required consent where applicable. A different company sharing the same owners is still a different entity. Its good standing does not automatically repair the original supplier’s position.

Where payment is withheld, separate the customer’s status concern from any dispute about the work or invoice. Preserve the contractual payment terms and correspondence. Ask the adviser how to protect the relevant rights rather than assuming deregistration means the customer owes nothing or must pay immediately regardless of the circumstances.

Prepare genuine evidence for the reinstatement assessment

CIPC’s 2026 reinstatement evidence notice addresses trading or economic value at the time of deregistration and the court order route. It requires evidence related to the entity and relevant period. A wish to use an old company again is not the same as proof that it meets the current requirements.

Locate independent records such as appropriate company bank statements, contracts or asset evidence, according to the circumstances and the notice. Personal statements or newly created internal summaries are not substitutes for the required evidence. Keep originals and explain genuine gaps to the adviser.

The customer’s old contract may be relevant to the chronology, but do not manufacture a new document and give it an earlier date. Records created after the event should be identified as such. The application should tell a supportable story about the company’s actual position at the relevant time.

Finish the compliance work attached to the process

CIPC’s automated reinstatement announcement explains that the process is electronic and that outstanding annual returns, beneficial ownership declarations and AFS or FAS requirements must be addressed within the stated period. Current guidance identifies a 30 business day completion requirement. Confirm the applicable trigger and instructions for the actual application.

Do not give the customer a payment receipt as proof that these filings are complete. Keep the submission confirmations and check the resulting company status. If a return cannot be filed because the ownership or financial information is incomplete, treat that as work still required rather than a minor detail after approval.

Assign someone to monitor official messages and outstanding items. Avoid relying on a former administrator’s private inbox or an old email submission channel. A recoverable company needs both the right application and the follow-through that prevents the process from reverting.

Close the customer query with relevant evidence

Once the official status has changed, obtain current evidence and give the customer what their review requires. Describe the date checked and avoid claiming that the document guarantees every aspect of compliance. A CIPC record does not, by itself, certify the company’s tax status, banking access or performance under a contract.

SARS’s guidance on company closure and tax registrations confirms that tax registrations are separate matters. Review any affected SARS position and provide authorised tax status evidence only where relevant. Similarly, verify the bank’s actual position before stating that payments can proceed normally.

Provide only the records relevant to the customer’s review and use an appropriate secure channel for sensitive material. The customer may need current registration evidence without needing every director’s identity document or the company’s full bank history. Ask what is necessary and obtain the right authority before sharing personal or confidential information. Keep the complete evidence pack for the adviser and official process while giving the customer a clear, proportionate response to the issue it has raised.

Ask the customer to confirm whether its original concern is resolved or whether another specific document is needed. Keep that response with the file. Do not interpret the absence of a reply as acceptance of a replacement contract, changed payee or revised performance arrangement.

Fix the administrative failure that caused the surprise

After the immediate query, establish why the status was missed. Check filing responsibility, access to records, contact details and the handover between administrators. Create a schedule with evidence of completed submissions, rather than relying on reminders alone.

Bring the status result, customer correspondence and transaction chronology to company reinstatement support. The aim is an accurate recovery plan and a credible response to the customer, with the limits of each document clearly understood. Rebuilding confidence depends on verified progress and consistent communication, not a promised processing date.