Understanding Company Intelligence Data: CIPC Registrations, Award Records, and Supplier Verification
How Tenders-SA Company Intelligence combines CIPC registry data, public tender awards, and enrichment sources to provide verified supplier profiles, and how to interpret the different data layers.
Understanding Company Intelligence Data: CIPC Registrations, Award Records, and Supplier Verification
When you view a company profile on Tenders-SA Company Intelligence, you are seeing data drawn from three distinct sources: official government registries, public procurement notices, and supplementary public enrichment. Understanding which data comes from which source, and what each layer contributes, is essential for interpreting supplier profiles correctly and avoiding assumptions that the platform does not support.
The Three Data Layers
Every Company Intelligence profile is constructed from three layers of data. Each layer has different characteristics in terms of authority, completeness, and update frequency.
Layer 1: Official CIPC Registry Data
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) is the official registry of all registered companies in South Africa. Tenders-SA integrates directly with the CIPC SOAP API to retrieve company information. This is the only data layer that comes from an authoritative government source.
Data retrieved from CIPC includes:
- Company registration number and legal name.
- Company status: Active, Deregistering, In Business Rescue, or Dissolved. This is the official CIPC status, not a Tenders-SA assessment.
- Company type: Private Company, Public Company, Non-Profit Company, Personal Liability Company, or State-Owned Company.
- Registration date and financial year end.
- Registered physical and postal addresses.
- Director information: full names, identification number (hashed), nationality, and appointment and resignation dates.
- Annual return filing history, which is used to calculate a compliance score.
CIPC data is cached with a 90-day freshness window to balance timeliness against rate limits imposed by the CIPC API. This means the data on a Company Intelligence profile could be up to 90 days old. If a company changed directors, updated its registered address, or filed annual returns within the last three months, the profile may not yet reflect those changes.
Importantly, CIPC data is only available for suppliers that Tenders-SA has successfully matched in the CIPC registry. Not all suppliers in the award database have been enriched with CIPC data. The matching process uses company name normalisation and fuzzy matching. Companies with common names, recent name changes, or inconsistent name formats across sources may not be matched.
Layer 2: Public Tender Award Data
Tender award records are the core of the Company Intelligence dataset. These records come from public procurement notices published by national, provincial, and municipal government bodies across South Africa.
Award data includes:
- Award date and tender reference number.
- Awarded supplier name and enterprise type.
- Award amount, where published. Some award notices do not disclose financial values, in which case the amount is shown as unavailable rather than estimated.
- Buying organisation name and department.
- Tender category or description.
- B-BBEE level at the time of award, where reported.
Tenders-SA does not generate, modify, or estimate award data. The records are sourced as published by procuring entities. If a municipality publishes an award notice with incomplete information, the profile reflects that incompleteness. The platform cannot fill gaps that the source does not provide.
Award data is aggregated across all available sources to build each supplier's award history. The same award may appear from multiple sources (for example, both eTenders and a provincial portal), and the system deduplicates these entries.
Layer 3: Enrichment Data
Enrichment data adds supplementary information from publicly available sources to round out a company profile. This includes data from Google Knowledge Graph, Google Places, and LinkedIn.
Enrichment fields include:
- Company website and description.
- Headquarters address and telephone number.
- LinkedIn profile URL and follower count.
- Industry classification from public sources.
Enrichment data is assigned a confidence score between 0 and 1 based on factors such as name match quality, Knowledge Graph score, address consistency, and website domain match. Fields with low confidence scores should be verified independently. Enrichment data is supplementary and is clearly distinguished from CIPC registry data in the profile interface.
Interpreting the Compliance Score
The compliance score shown on company profiles is a Tenders-SA calculated metric, not an official CIPC score. It is derived from the company's annual return filing history with CIPC. The score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating consistent annual return compliance.
A low compliance score means that annual returns are outstanding or were filed late. This does not necessarily mean the company is non-compliant in other areas, but it is a useful indicator of administrative health. Companies that fail to file annual returns for three consecutive years risk deregistration by CIPC.
The compliance score widget displays the most recent three years of annual return data for free-tier users, with full history available to Pro subscribers.
Forensic Flags: What They Are and What They Are Not
Company profiles display forensic risk flags that are generated by the Tenders-SA forensic analysis engine. These flags are algorithmic indicators of patterns that may warrant further investigation. They are not findings of wrongdoing.
The forensic engine checks for ten flag types including deregistered entities still receiving awards, poor compliance scores, directors appearing across multiple awarded companies, address clusters where multiple suppliers share the same address, and awards clustered just below public procurement thresholds.
Each flag has a severity level and contributes to an overall risk score from 0 to 100 displayed on the profile. The flags are displayed with their severity band (clear, watch, elevated, or high concern) and are accompanied by the platform's standard disclaimer: these findings identify statistical unusualness and named data patterns for review. They do not establish wrongdoing and require source verification.
The Difference Between Official and Enhanced Data
| Dimension | Official CIPC Data | Tenders-SA Enhanced Data |
|---|---|---|
| Company status | Direct from CIPC registry (active, deregistering, dissolved) | Same as CIPC, with readability improvements |
| Director info | Names, ID hashes, nationality, appointment/resignation dates | Cross-linked across companies (director overlap detection) |
| Annual returns | Filing status and dates | Compliance score calculated from history (0-100) |
| Tender awards | Not available from CIPC | Aggregated from public procurement notices |
| Company description | Not available from CIPC | From Google Knowledge Graph enrichment |
| Website, phone, email | Not available from CIPC | From Google Places and LinkedIn enrichment |
| Risk flags | Not available from CIPC | 10 flag types from forensic analysis engine |
Data Freshness and Currency
Data freshness varies by source:
- Tender awards are updated as new award notices are published by government entities. There is no fixed schedule; updates depend on when procuring entities publish their award notices.
- CIPC data is refreshed on-demand with a 90-day staleness threshold. If the cached data is more than 90 days old, the system will fetch a new copy from the CIPC API when the profile is accessed. API rate limits may delay updates during high-traffic periods.
- Enrichment data is refreshed periodically but does not have a fixed schedule. Google and LinkedIn data may change independently of Tenders-SA's update cycles.
Each company profile displays a CIPC data badge indicating when the CIPC data was last synced, so you can assess the currency of the information.
Practical Guidance for Using Company Intelligence Data
When using Company Intelligence profiles to inform business decisions, the following approach is recommended:
- Verify CIPC data directly on the CIPC website for critical decisions such as partnership evaluations or large contract awards. The profile provides a useful starting point, but the official registry is the authoritative source.
- Treat award values as published by the source entity. If the amount seems unusually high or low, check the original tender notice if available.
- Do not use forensic flags alone to make decisions about a supplier's integrity. Use them as starting points for further investigation.
- Cross-reference enrichment data (website, email, phone) against other sources before using it for contact purposes.
Summary
Company Intelligence profiles combine three distinct data layers, each with different levels of authority and completeness. CIPC data comes from the official company registry, award data is sourced from public procurement notices, and enrichment data is drawn from public commercial sources. Understanding which layer you are looking at, and what each layer can and cannot tell you, is key to using the tool effectively for supplier research and verification.
Browse company profiles at /tools/company-intelligence and refer to the Forensic Analysis tool at /tools/forensic-analysis for deeper investigation of flagged suppliers.
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Based on this article's topics, here are some current tenders that might interest you
APPOINTMENT OF A SERVICE PROVIDER FOR THE REVIEW OF THE EHLANZENI DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK Tenders are hereby invited from capable and experienced service providers for the above tender. 1. Only tenderers who have provided the following mandatory information and documents to be used to evaluate the bidder's responsiveness will be considered for further evaluation on functionality; 1. Only tenderers who have provided the following mandatory information and documents to be used to evaluate the tenderers responsiveness will be considered for further evaluation on functionality and preference specific goals. 1.1 Only tenderers who are registered on the Central Supplier Database (CSD) will be considered and the copy of the full CSD report not older than three months should be submitted. 1.2 Form of offer must be firm, VAT and other tax inclusive and valid at least Ninety (90) days from the closing date. 1.3 No tender shall be considered for the person who are in the service of the state, 1.4 Valid SARS PIN certificate must be attached, 1.5 Attached original Certified copy of company registration documents issued by Companies and Intellectual Property commission (CIPC) and tenderer must attach shareholder’s certificates where applicable. 1.6 Attached original Certified copies of Identity Documents (ID) of all company directors, 1.7 Attach verifiable Municipal Account/s not older than three months for both the tenderer and entity owner/s or director/s. In areas where the municipalities are not issuing municipal accounts, attach valid lease agreements or confirmation of residence or address for both the tenderer and entity owner/s or director/s issued by a relevant authority not older than three months. 1.8 Tenderers submitting tenders as a joint venture or consortium must attach a signed agreement by all parties to the joint venture or consortium. 1.9 Fully completed tender document as issued and signed must be submitted on the PDF document that has been issued. All certified copies must not be older than three months. 1.10 Tenderers are advised not to commit any fraudulent activities, including forgery of documents. All abuses of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems including but not limited to forgery of returnable documents, may be reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and restricted from doing business with any public institution or organ of the state for a period not exceeding 10 years in line with the Prevention of Fraud and Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004. 2. This tender will be evaluated on 80/20 Preference Points system approved Preferential Procurement Policy of the Ehlanzeni District Municipality. The preference points system will be applied as follows: - 2.1 The 80 points will be for price 2.2 The 20 points will be allocated for the specific goals on a proportional or pro rata basis as mentioned below: - POINTS FOR CONTRACTING AN ENTERPRISE OWNED BY HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS OR INDIVIDUALS HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS OR INDIVIDUALS POINTS ALLOCATION SOURCE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO CLAIM POINTS 100% black person or people owned enterprise 5,00 ? A copy of a Full CSD report not older than 3 months More than 30% woman or women shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 more than 30% youth shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 More than 30% people living with disability shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 ? A copy of a Medical Certificate to confirm disability or stated on the CSD More than 30% military veteran’s shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 ? Points will be allocated if it is stated on the CSD that the enterprise is owned by persons designated as military veterans POINTS FOR IMPLEMENTING OF RDP PROGRAMMES Enterprises regarded as *EME located within the Ehlanzeni District Municipality area of jurisdiction 2,00 ? A copy of a Full CSD report not older than 3 months NB: Points will only be awarded if the CSD physical address is the same as the address for the proof of residence required in 1.7 above. B-BBEE level 1 contribution 5,0 ? Certified Valid BBBEE certificate ? or Certified Valid EME and SME a Sworn Affidavit ? or Certified Valid CIPC issued certificate confirming annual turnover and level of Black Ownership TOTAL PREFERENCE POINTS TO BE CLAIMED 20,0 *EME’s are Exempted Micro Enterprise with an annual Turnover of R 10.0million or less. Received tenders will be evaluated for responsiveness based on mandatory requirements and on functionality to obtain a minimum of 70 points out of a possible 100 points to qualify for further evaluation in line with 80/20 Preference Points System. Tender Documents can be viewed and downloaded at no cost on Document sharing and collaboration Platform or Portal (NEPTUNE): http://edmservices.ehlanzeni.gov.za and National Treasure Portal from Monday, 13 July 2026. Further information regarding the download and uploading of the documents will be explained during the compulsory briefing session. A compulsory briefing session will be held on Thursday, 16 July 2026 ,11:00 at Ehlanzeni District Municipality Complex, DMC, 8 Van Niekerk Street, Sonheuwel Central, Mbombela 1201. Where bids should be submitted - Completed bid and other returnable documents must be submitted only in PDF format on the Document Sharing and Collaboration Platform or Portal: http://edmservices.ehlanzeni.gov.za on or before Wednesday, 29 July 2026 not later than 12h00. Tender Documents received by telegram, fax and post will not be considered. Late tenders shall not be accepted. Enquiry: Contact Person - ADMINISTRATION: Mr SP Khumalo at 013 759 8573 or [email protected] - TECHNICAL: Ms DD Magale 013 759 8500 or [email protected] Special Conditions: Ehlanzeni District Municipality reserves the right to appoint for the whole or part of the tender or to cancel the tender Employer: Acting Municipal Manager: Ms. S S Madlopha Ehlanzeni District Municipality P.O. Box 3333 MBOMBELA 1200
EHLANZENI DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY INVITES TENDERER’S FOR SUPPLY, INSTALL AND COMMISSION OF TWO HIGH MAST LIGHTS IN THE CITY OF MBOMBELA. Ehlanzeni District Municipality hereby invite tenderers who are capable and experienced in public lighting installation with a CIDB grading of 3EP or Higher. 1. Only tenderers who have provided the following mandatory information and documents to be used to evaluate the tenderers responsiveness will be considered for further evaluation on functionality and preference specific goals. 1.1 Only bidders who are registered on the Central Supplier Database (CSD) will be considered and the copy of the CSD report not older than three months. 1.2 Form of offer must be firm, VAT and other tax inclusive and valid at least Ninety (90) days from the closing date. 1.3 No tender shall be considered for the person who are in the service of the state, 1.4 Valid SARS PIN certificate must be attached, 1.5 Attached original Certified copy of company registration documents issued by Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and tenderer must attach shareholder’s certificates where applicable. 1.6 Attached original Certified copies of Identity Documents (ID) of all company directors, 1.7 Attach verifiable Municipal Account/s not older than three months for both the tenderer and entity owner/s or director/s. In areas where the municipalities are not issuing municipal accounts, attach valid lease agreements or confirmation of residence or address for both the tenderer and entity owner/s or director/s issued by a relevant authority not older than three months. 1.8 Proof of registration with CIDB for a grading of 3EP or Higher, 1.9 Attached Valid letter from Department of Employment and Labour - COIDA registration letter, 1.10 Tenderers submitting tenders as a joint venture or consortium must attach a signed agreement by all parties to the joint venture or consortium. 1.11 Fully completed tender document as issued and signed must be submitted on the PDF document that has been issued. All certified copies must not be older done three months. 1.12 Tenderers are advised not to commit any fraudulent activities, including forgery of documents. All abuses of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems including but not limited to forgery of returnable documents, may be reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and restricted from doing business with any public institution or organ of the state for a period not exceeding 10 years in line with the Prevention of Fraud and Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004. 2. This tender will be evaluated on 80/20 Preference Points system approved Preferential Procurement Policy of the Ehlanzeni District Municipality. The preference points system will be applied as follows: - 2.1 The 80 points will be for price 2.2 The 20 points will be allocated for the specific goals on a proportional or pro rata basis as mentioned below: - POINTS FOR CONTRACTING AN ENTERPRISE OWNED BY HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS OR INDIVIDUALS HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS OR INDIVIDUALS POINTS ALLOCATION SOURCE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO CLAIM POINTS 100% black person or people owned enterprise 5,00 ? A copy of a Full CSD report not older than 3 months More than 30% woman or women shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 more than 30% youth shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 More than 30% people living with disability shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 ? A copy of a Medical Certificate to confirm disability or stated on the CSD More than 30% military veteran’s shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 ? Points will be allocated if it is stated on the CSD that the enterprise is owned by persons designated as military veterans POINTS FOR IMPLEMENTING OF RDP PROGRAMMES Enterprises regarded as *EMEs located within the Ehlanzeni District Municipality area of jurisdiction 2,00 ? A copy of a Full CSD report not older than 3 months NB: Points will only be awarded if the CSD physical address is the same as the address for the proof of residence required in 1.7 above. B-BBEE level 1 contribution 5,00 ? Certified Valid BBBEE certificate ? or Certified Valid EME and SME a Sworn Affidavit ? or Certified Valid CIPC issued certificate confirming annual turnover and level of Black Ownership TOTAL PREFERENCE POINTS TO BE CLAIMED 20,00 *EME’s are Exempted Micro Enterprise with an annual Turnover of R 10.0million or less. Received tenders will be evaluated for responsiveness based on mandatory requirements and on functionality to obtain a minimum of 70 points out of a possible 100 points to qualify for further evaluation in line with 80/20 Preference Points System. Tender Documents can be viewed and downloaded at no cost on Document sharing and collaboration Platform or Portal (NEPTUNE): http://edmservices.ehlanzeni.gov.za and National Treasure Portal from Friday, 10 July 2026. Further information regarding the download and uploading of the documents will be explained during the compulsory briefing session. A compulsory briefing session will be held on Friday, 17 July 2026 ,10:00 at Ehlanzeni District Municipality Complex, DMC, 8 Van Niekerk Street, Sonheuwel Central, Mbombela 1201. Where bids should be submitted - Completed bid and other returnable documents must be submitted only in PDF format on the Document Sharing and Collaboration Platform or Portal: http://edmservices.ehlanzeni.gov.za on or before Tuesday, 28 July 2026 not later than 12H00. Tender Documents received by telegram, fax and post will not be considered. Late tenders shall not be accepted. Enquiry: Contact Person - ADMINISTRATION: Mr. SP Khumalo at 013 759 8573 or [email protected] - TECHNICAL: Ms. DD Magale 013 759 8690 or [email protected] Special Conditions: Ehlanzeni District Municipality reserves the right to appoint for the whole or part of the tender or to cancel the tender Employer: Acting Municipal Manager: Ms. S S Madlopha Ehlanzeni District Municipality P.O. Box 3333 MBOMBELA 1200
SUPPLY, DELIVER AND OFF-LOADING OF STREET LIGHTING FITTINGS AT THABA CHWEU LOCAL MUNICIPALITY Ehlanzeni District Municipality hereby invite tenderer s who are capable and experienced in public lighting installation with a CIDB grading of 1EP or Higher. 1. Only tenderers who have provided the following mandatory information and documents to be used to evaluate the tenderers responsiveness will be considered for further evaluation on functionality and preference specific goals. 1.1 Only tenderers who are registered on the Central Supplier Database (CSD) will be considered and the copy of the CSD report not older than three months. 1.2 Form of offer must be firm, VAT and other tax inclusive and valid at least Ninety (90) days from the closing date. 1.3 No tender shall be considered for the person who are in the service of the state, 1.4 Valid SARS PIN certificate must be attached, 1.5 Attached original Certified copy of company registration documents issued by Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and tenderer must attach shareholder’s certificates where applicable. 1.6 Attached original Certified copies of Identity Documents (ID) of all company directors, 1.7 Attach verifiable Municipal Account/s not older than three months for both the tenderer and entity owner/s or director/s. In areas where the municipalities are not issuing municipal accounts, attach valid lease agreements or confirmation of residence or address for both the tenderer and entity owner/s or director/s issued by a relevant authority not older than three months. 1.8 Proof of registration with CIDB for a grading of 1EP or Higher, 1.8 Attached Valid letter from Department of Employment and Labour - COIDA registration letter, 1.9 Tenderers submitting tenders as a joint venture or consortium must attach a signed agreement by all parties to the joint venture or consortium. 1.10 Fully completed tender document as issued and signed must be submitted on the PDF document that has been issued. All certified copies must not be older than three months. 1.11 Bidders are advised not to commit any fraudulent activities, including forgery of documents. All abuses of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems including but not limited to forgery of returnable documents, may be reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and restricted from doing business with any public institution or organ of the state for a period not exceeding 10 years in line with the Prevention of Fraud and Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004. 2. This tender will be evaluated on 80/20 Preference Points system approved Preferential Procurement Policy of the Ehlanzeni District Municipality. The preference points system will be applied as follows: - 2.1 The 80 points will be for price 2.2 The 20 points will be allocated for the specific goals on a proportional or pro rata basis as mentioned below: - POINTS FOR CONTRACTING AN ENTERPRISE OWNED BY HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS OR INDIVIDUALS HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS OR INDIVIDUALS POINTS ALLOCATION SOURCE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO CLAIM POINTS 100% black person or people owned enterprise 5,00 ? A copy of a Full CSD report not older than 3 months More than 30% woman or women shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 more than 30% youth shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 More than 30% people living with disability shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 ? A copy of a Medical Certificate to confirm disability or stated on the CSD More than 30% military veteran’s shareholding or owned enterprise 2,00 ? Points will be allocated if it is stated on the CSD that the enterprise is owned by persons designated as military veterans POINTS FOR IMPLEMENTING OF RDP PROGRAMMES Enterprises regarded as *EMEs located within the Ehlanzeni District Municipality area of jurisdiction 2,00 ? A copy of a Full CSD report not older than 3 months NB: Points will only be awarded if the CSD physical address is the same as the address for the proof of residence required in 1.7 above. B-BBEE level 1 contribution 5,00 ? Certified Valid BBBEE certificate ? or Certified Valid EME and SME a Sworn Affidavit ? or Certified Valid CIPC issued certificate confirming annual turnover and level of Black Ownership TOTAL PREFERENCE POINTS TO BE CLAIMED 20,00 *EME’s are Exempted Micro Enterprise with an annual Turnover of R 10.0million or less. Received tenders will be evaluated for responsiveness based on mandatory requirements and on functionality to obtain a minimum of 70 points out of a possible 100 points to qualify for further evaluation in line with 80/20 Preference Points System. Tender Documents can be viewed and downloaded at no cost on Document sharing and collaboration Platform or Portal (NEPTUNE): http://edmservices.ehlanzeni.gov.za and National Treasure Portal from Friday, 10 July 2026. Further information regarding the download and uploading of the documents will be explained during the compulsory briefing session. A compulsory briefing session will be held on Friday, 17 July 2026 ,10:00 at Ehlanzeni District Municipality Complex, DMC, 8 Van Niekerk Street, Sonheuwel Central, Mbombela 1201. Where bids should be submitted - Completed bid and other returnable documents must be submitted only in PDF format on the Document Sharing and Collaboration Platform or Portal: http://edmservices.ehlanzeni.gov.za on or before Tuesday, 28 July 2026 not later than 12H00. Tender Documents received by telegram, fax and post will not be considered. Late tenders shall not be accepted. Enquiry: Contact Person - ADMINISTRATION: Mr SP Khumalo at 013 759 8573 or [email protected] - TECHNICAL: Ms DD Magale 013 759 8690 or [email protected] Special Conditions: Ehlanzeni District Municipality reserves the right to appoint for the whole or part of the tender or to cancel the tender Employer: Acting Municipal Manager: Ms. S S Madlopha Ehlanzeni District Municipality P.O. Box 3333 MBOMBELA 1200
ADDRESS ON INVOICES DUE FOR PAYMENT FOR WORK DONE ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL TRANSMISSION COMPANY SOUTH AFRICA SOC LTD (“NTCSA”)
Request for Bids for the Provision of Cleaning & Hygiene Services for a Period not exceeding 12 Months at Airports Company South Africa – King Shaka International Airport
PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN LANDFILL MONITORING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS
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Understanding Company Intelligence Data: CIPC Registrations, Award Records, and Supplier Verification
How Tenders-SA Company Intelligence combines CIPC registry data, public tender awards, and enrichment sources to provide verified supplier profiles, and how to interpret the different data layers.