EU representative for South African companies

Why companies in South Africa need an EU representative

Article 27 GDPR applies based on what you do, not where you are incorporated. If your company offers goods or services to people in the EU, or monitors their behaviour, you need a representative established in the EU — regardless of your home jurisdiction. The full rules are covered in our EU GDPR representative guide.

For South African businesses this is rarely optional: serving the EU market almost always crosses the Article 27 threshold. Usantis gives you a real EU representative — a physical EU address, a named representative, and DSAR handling — without you opening an EU entity.

Specific challenges for South African businesses

• POPIA is closely aligned with the GDPR — a good baseline, but not a substitute
• An African market plus an EU customer base in tech and tourism
• No EU adequacy decision yet

Regulatory context

Relevant frameworks and decisions South African companies tend to encounter:

Industries we represent from South Africa

We act for South African companies across sectors — most commonly:

Billing & tax

EU B2B with a VAT-ID uses reverse charge; South African VAT applies locally and EU VAT to EU customers. POPIA helps your baseline but does not satisfy Article 27.

Support & time zones

The same as, or one hour ahead of, CET — effectively full business-hours overlap.

Frequently asked questions