South African wine and food exporters with EU online shops, tourism and safari operators marketing to German travellers, and software and business-process companies serving EU clients all process personal data of people in the European Union. English is the business language, and Germany is one of South Africa’s most important source markets for tourism and wine. Where a South African company has no establishment in the EU, Art. 27 GDPR requires an EU representative for its EU-related processing. Kanzlei Matutis, a German law firm specialised in data protection, provides this service for 350 EUR per year.
Does a company from South Africa need an EU representative?
Yes, if it has no establishment in the EU and its processing of personal data relates to offering goods or services to people in the EU or to monitoring their behaviour there (Art. 3(2) in conjunction with Art. 27(1) GDPR). Examples: a Stellenbosch wine estate selling to consumers in Germany through its own shop with EUR pricing; a Cape Town safari operator with a German-language website and remarketing to visitors from the EU; a Johannesburg SaaS company with EU customers. A South African company that already has a subsidiary, branch or office in an EU Member State does not need a representative; that EU entity is the point of contact. The exceptions of Art. 27(2) GDPR (occasional, low-risk processing without large-scale sensitive data; public authorities) are narrow and rarely apply to a business that actively markets to the EU. The full criteria are explained on the page What is the legal situation?.
POPIA and the GDPR
South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), fully in force since 1 July 2021, is enforced by the Information Regulator. POPIA shares many principles with the GDPR, including the requirement to appoint an Information Officer, but it is a separate law. There is no EU adequacy decision for South Africa under Art. 45 GDPR; transfers from the EU to South Africa require standard contractual clauses or another safeguard under Art. 46 GDPR. POPIA’s Information Officer is not an EU representative: the EU representative must be established in the EU (Art. 27(3) GDPR). A South African company that targets people in the EU falls under Art. 3(2) GDPR and needs a representative under Art. 27 GDPR in addition to its POPIA compliance.
What we do as EU representative for South African companies
Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Matutis is a German law firm in Potsdam, near Berlin, specialised in data protection law. Under a written mandate pursuant to Art. 27(1) GDPR we act as your point of contact in the EU for all supervisory authorities of the Member States and for data subjects. Letters and emails addressed to us are checked, scanned and forwarded to your contact person without undue delay; we point out deadlines, such as the one-month period for data subject requests under Art. 12(3) GDPR. We are in the same or a neighbouring time zone, so forwarded mail can be discussed the same day. We communicate in English and German. We do not replace your Data Protection Officer and do not take over your compliance decisions; the difference is explained on the page EU representative vs. Data Protection Officer.
Cost for companies from South Africa
The annual flat fee is 350 EUR. Because the service is provided by a German law firm to a business customer outside Germany, German VAT is not charged (reverse charge), so net equals gross. We invoice in EUR; payment by international transfer or by credit card or PayPal is possible. Please instruct your bank so that the full EUR amount is credited. Forwarding of scanned mail by email is included; postal forwarding of originals is charged at 2 EUR per item plus postage. Full details: What does it cost and what is included?
Next step
Send us your company name, website and a short description of your activities in the EU via the inquiry form. We confirm whether a representative is required in your case and send you the contract and written mandate. The complete process is described on the page How to appoint an EU GDPR representative. Other countries: EU representative by country.