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Increased accountability for estate agents

From 1 March 2011, all estate agents have had to meet the requirements of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (FICA).

In terms of FICAā€™s description, estate agents are institutions with accountability. As such they will have to be cognisant of:

  1. their duty to identify clients,
  2. their duty to keep records,
  3. the required period for which records must be kept,
  4. their duty to report suspicious and unusual transactions,
  5. their duty to report cash transactions above the prescribed limit (i.e. presently R25 000),
  6. their duty to report transfers of money to and from the Republic,
  7. the formulation and implementation of internal rules.

Should an institution with accountability fail to comply with the provisions of the Act, it is guilty of an offence. A person convicted of an offence can be imprisoned for up to 15 years, or fined to the tune of R10 million.

For further information, contact AJ Beukes of Exceed Tax & Advisory Services on tel. 021 882 8140 or e-mail aj@exceed.co.za