PAIA manual

1. Introduction

This manual is prepared for [Complete before publication: legal company name], registration number [Complete before publication: company registration number], in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) and includes information required by POPIA.

Head of the private body and Information Officer: [Complete before publication: Information Officer name]

Physical address: [Complete before publication: business physical address]

Postal address: [Complete before publication: business physical address]

Telephone: [Complete before publication: customer-service telephone number]

Email: [Complete before publication: customer-service email address]

Website: [Complete before publication: website address]

2. The Information Regulator's guide

The Information Regulator publishes a guide explaining how to use PAIA, the available remedies and the fees that may apply. Obtain the current guide, prescribed forms, fee schedule and contact details from inforegulator.org.za.

3. Records available without a PAIA request

Public website pages, current product information, public legal notices, published reviews and other records deliberately made public can be accessed without Form 2. A customer can access or request their own account, order, invoice, delivery and return records through the site or support, subject to identity verification.

No separate category has been voluntarily submitted for automatic access under PAIA section 52 unless stated here in a later version.

4. Records held

We may hold records in these categories:

• company, governance, statutory and regulatory records;
• accounting, tax, banking, insurance and audit records;
• customer, order, payment-status, invoice, delivery, returns, warranty and support records;
• supplier, courier, service-provider and other commercial contracts;
• employee, contractor, recruitment, payroll and workplace records;
• product, import, quality, safety, inventory and logistics records;
• website, software, security, incident, access-control and communications records;
• intellectual-property, marketing, consent, suppression and review records; and
• legal advice, complaints, disputes, claims and litigation records.

Holding a category does not mean every requested record exists or must be disclosed. PAIA's grounds for refusal, third-party procedures and other laws apply.

5. Laws under which records may be kept

Depending on our activities, records may be kept under laws including the Companies Act, Income Tax Act, Tax Administration Act, Value-Added Tax Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Labour Relations Act, Employment Equity Act, Unemployment Insurance legislation, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, Consumer Protection Act, ECTA, POPIA, PAIA, customs and product-safety legislation, and common law.

6. Requesting access under PAIA

1. Use the current prescribed Form 2 from the Information Regulator.
2. Identify the requested record clearly, the right you seek to exercise or protect, why the record is required for that right, the preferred form of access, and your contact details.
3. Send it to the Information Officer at [Complete before publication: customer-service email address] or [Complete before publication: business physical address].
4. Pay only a prescribed request or access fee that lawfully applies. We will give the required notice before an access fee is due.
5. We will decide the request within the statutory period, subject to a lawful extension, and explain the decision and available remedy.

We may request proof of identity or authority. A requester acting for another person must provide proof of that authority. Personal requesters generally do not pay the prescribed request fee for access to their own records, but lawful reproduction or delivery fees may apply.

7. Refusal, complaints and court remedies

Access may be refused only on a ground allowed by PAIA, including protected third-party privacy or commercial information, privileged material, safety, law-enforcement interests, or records that cannot be found after reasonable steps. Mandatory-disclosure provisions still apply.

If you are dissatisfied with our decision, or we do not respond within the statutory period, you may submit a PAIA Form 5 complaint to the Information Regulator. The complaint period is currently 180 days from the decision, or from the expiry of the response period after a non-response. A court application may also be available under PAIA. Current forms, processes and contact details are at inforegulator.org.za.

8. POPIA processing

Our privacy notice describes data-subject categories, information categories, purposes, recipients, international transfers, security safeguards, retention and rights. In summary, we process customer, prospective-customer, supplier, worker and service-provider information to operate commerce, meet law, secure the service and communicate as permitted.

Likely recipients include payment providers, couriers, cloud and email operators, professional advisers and public bodies where law requires. Cross-border transfers are protected as POPIA section 72 requires. We maintain reasonable safeguards under section 19 and an incident process under section 22.

9. Availability and updates

This manual is available on [Complete before publication: website address] and from the Information Officer. A copy can also be inspected at [Complete before publication: business physical address] during reasonable business hours by prior arrangement. We review and update it when material record categories, processing or legal requirements change.