Corporate and public buyers vet suppliers because procurement fraud is among the most commonly reported economic crimes, and the checks have become more thorough as a result. For an honest small supplier this is not an obstacle so much as a document exercise, and failing it is almost always about preparation rather than integrity.
Know what is checked and have it ready before you are asked.
What buyers actually verify
Company registration and current annual returns at the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, directors and their other directorships, tax compliance status, banking details in the company name, and B-BBEE status.
They also check whether any director is connected to an employee of the buyer, whether the business is on any exclusion list, and increasingly whether you carry appropriate insurance and can meet data protection obligations.
What fails most often
Lapsed annual returns, unresolved tax status, and banking details that do not match the registered company name. These are binary and they stop the process regardless of how good your offer is.
Undisclosed connections are the other common failure. If a director has any relationship with someone at the buyer, disclose it upfront. Discovering it during vetting reads as concealment even when it was an oversight.
Banking verification is where fraud happens
Buyers verify bank details independently because the most common procurement fraud is a supplier’s banking details being changed by an attacker who compromised an email account.
Expect to confirm details through a channel other than email, and apply the same discipline yourself: never accept changed banking details from a customer or supplier without phoning a number you already held.
Prepare a pack and keep it current
Assemble registration documents, a tax compliance status, a B-BBEE affidavit or certificate, banking confirmation, insurance certificates and directors’ identity documents in one place, and diarise the renewal dates.
Most of these expire. A supplier who can produce a current pack within a day frequently wins work over one who is equally capable but takes a fortnight to assemble it.
Frequently asked questions
Why has supplier vetting become stricter?
Because procurement fraud is one of the most commonly reported economic crimes, so buyers verify more thoroughly.
What do buyers check?
Registration and annual returns, directors, tax compliance, banking in the company name, B-BBEE status, insurance and conflicts of interest.
What fails most often?
Lapsed annual returns, unresolved tax status, and banking details that do not match the registered company name.
Should I disclose a connection to someone at the buyer?
Always, upfront. Discovering it during vetting reads as concealment even when it was an oversight.
How do I make vetting easy?
Keep a current pack of all documents in one place with renewal dates diarised, since most of them expire.
Further reading
Originally published in May 2018. Updated September 2026 into practical guidance on passing supplier vetting.
