Data Retention Policy
Effective date: 2 July 2026 | Last updated: 2 July 2026
1. Purpose
This Data Retention Policy explains how long KTS Export Solar (“we”, “us”, or “our”) keeps personal information and other records, and how we securely dispose of them when they are no longer needed. It supports our compliance with the South African Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”), tax, customs, and other legal obligations.
2. General retention principle
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to:
- fulfil the purpose for which it was collected;
- comply with legal, regulatory, tax, and accounting obligations;
- resolve disputes and enforce our agreements; and
- protect our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights.
3. Retention periods by category
| Category | Retention period | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Account and authentication records | For the life of the account plus 3 years | Service provision, dispute resolution, and fraud prevention |
| Customer orders and transaction records | 7 years from the transaction date | Tax, accounting, and consumer-protection obligations |
| Customer enquiries and communications | 3 years from the last interaction | Customer service, dispute resolution, and quality assurance |
| Payment and billing records | 7 years from the transaction date | Tax, audit, and financial-record obligations |
| Logistics and shipping records | 5 years from shipment date | Customs, warranty, and traceability requirements |
| Website logs and analytics | Up to 24 months | Security, performance, and service improvement |
| Marketing consents and preferences | Until consent is withdrawn or the account is closed | Demonstrating consent and respecting preferences |
| Closed accounts | 3 years after closure, unless longer retention is required by law | Legal holds, fraud prevention, and regulatory obligations |
4. Secure disposal
When information is no longer required, we securely delete, destroy, or anonymise it so that it cannot be reconstructed or read. Methods include secure deletion, shredding, and anonymisation techniques that remove identifiers.
5. Exceptions and legal holds
We may retain information longer than the standard periods where:
- we are required or permitted by law, regulation, or court order;
- the information is relevant to an ongoing dispute, investigation, or legal proceeding;
- deletion is technically not feasible or would compromise the integrity of backups; or
- you have requested restriction of processing rather than deletion.
6. Backup retention
Backups are retained for business continuity and disaster recovery. Information in backups is deleted according to the backup retention schedule and is not actively used for operational purposes.
7. Your rights
You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal retention obligations. Please contact us at [email protected].
8. Changes to this policy
We may update this Data Retention Policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.
9. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Data Retention Policy, please contact us at [email protected].