THE
BEECHAMBER

AFFIDAVITS
THE PRESCRIBED FORMAT
2022
Amended General B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice
General
AFFIDAVITS
THE PRESCRIBED FORMAT
Upon the publication of the Codes of Good Practice
in 2007, the prescribed format for all businesses in
presenting their B-BBEE credentials was a
B-BBEE certificate issued by a SANAS accredited B-BBEE rating agency or,
until 2016, one prepared by the
Standards Department of the
Independent Regulatory
Board for Auditors (IRBA).
The 2013 amendments
to the Codes of Good
Practice, to remove the
financial burden of a B-BBEE
verification, allowed all Exempted
Micro Enterprises (EMEs) to present
a B-BBEE affidavit (affidavit) or CIPC
B-BBEE certificate to confirm their
level of 'Black' Ownership and
Financial Revenue Threshold.
Further amendments meant that
Qualifying Small Enterprises
with at least 51% 'Black'
Ownership (BO QSE) could do
the same. The amendments
apply to all public and private
organisations, as well as organs of
state. On 3rd September 2018, Practice
Guide 1 of 2018 was issued as a non binding guide, purely to assist with the
interpretation to ensure consistency in the
application of the Act.
Although the rationale behind an affidavit to confirm 'Black'
Ownership and financial revenue was to remove the burden
from small and ‘Black’-owned businesses, it does bring about
challenges for an organisation at the time of its B-BBEE
verification. One such challenge is brought about by the
deponent incorrectly applying the Ownership calculation.Since
the Commissioner of Oaths is likely not a B-BBEE specialist,
such a miscalculation may go unchallenged. Unfortunately,
such shortfalls in applying the Ownership calculation only
become evident at the time of a B-BBEE verification, which
can impact an organisation's Preferential Procurement score.
All sets of published Codes have a prescribed affidavit format,
each with its financial threshold. The published Practice Note
guides EMEs and BO QSEs in correctly submitting an affidavit
in the prescribed format.
> Generic Enterprises are organisations that do not
belong to a specific sector that falls within the ambit of a
published Sector Code.
> Sector Specific Enterprises, where an organisation falls
within the ambit of a Sector Code of Good Practice
promulgated under the B-BBEE Act. Qualification is
based on the sector from which an organisation derives
more than 50% of its revenue.
> Specialised Enterprises exclude ownership status from
the measurement benchmark. Such organisations qualify
as non-profit organisations, public benefit schemes,
organisations exclusively owned by organs-of-state, and
those limited by guarantee or higher education.
Bridget Themba is the Certificate Services Manager at the BEE Chamber and holds
a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Human Resources Management
and Marketing. Daily, Bridget is responsible for all operations pertaining to the
collection and validation, coordination and quality control of B-BBEE credential
collections on behalf of BEE Chamber members. She has extensive knowledge of
B-BBEE certificate validation
Affidavit Prescribed Formats Category Financial
Threshold
Generic Enterprises
BO QSE Between R10m
and R50m
EME Less than R10m
Sector Specific Enterprises
BO QSE Between R10m
and R50m
EME Less than R10m
Construction Sector Code
EME
Contractor Less than R3m
EME BEP Less than R1.8m
Defence Sector Code
BO QSE Between R5m
and R50m
EME Less than R5m
Forest Sector Code
BO QSE Between R10m
and R50m
EME Less than R10m
Financial Sector Code
BO QSE Between R10m
and R50m
EME Less than R10m
Information Communication
Technology Sector Code (ICT)
BO QSE Between R10m
and R50m
EME Less than R10m
Marketing, Advertising &
Communication Sector Code (MAC)
> Public Relations BO QSE Between R5m
and R10m
> Marketing, Advertising &
Communications EME Less than R5m
Property Sector Code
> Service-based
BO QSE Between R5m
and R10m
EME Less than R5m
> Agency-based
> Asset-based
BO QSE Between R2.5m
and R35m
EME Less than R2.5m
BO QSE Between R80m
and R400m
Tourism Sector Code
BO QSE Between R5m
and R45m
EME Less than R5m
Specialised Enterprises
BO QSE Between R10m
and R50m
EME Less than R10m
If an EME or BO QSE presents its B-BBEE status in any format
other than a prescribed affidavit, it is invalid.
Exceptions to the rule
> EMEs or BO QSEs falling within the ambit of the Transport
Sector Code, as it has not been amended since 2007.
Such organisations must present a B-BBEE certificate
issued by an accredited SANAS B-BBEE rating agency or
one prepared by their Accounting Officer.
> As per section 6.4 in Code Series 000, EMEs and BO
QSEs that opt to tender for work to the value of R50m
and above need to go through a B-BBEE verification
through a SANAS-accredited B-BBEE rating agency.
An affidavit relies on the honesty and integrity of a deponent.
In turn, organisations trust the information presented in an
affidavit to attain their Preferential Procurement targets. But,
by the same token, those evaluating the validity of an affidavit
should be able to recognise 'red-flag' areas and identify
whether an affidavit is in the correct format and includes all
necessary information.
A deponent must ensure that the affidavit they present is
representative of their business which also qualifies to use
an affidavit to confirm its Ownership and financial revenue.
For example, a QSE with less than 51% Ownership may not
complete an affidavit; they must go through the B-BBEE
verification process.
Validity of an affidavit for B-BBEE purposes
The deponent must sign an affidavit in the presence of a
‘Commissioner of Oaths’ as per the requirements in the
Justices of Peace and Commissioners of Oaths Act, 1963.
Notably, a Commissioner of Oaths must be independent;
therefore, they may not have had any direct connection to a
deponent to avoid any conflict of interest. A Commissioner
of Oaths signs and stamps the affidavit, binding it. No cost is
attached to a 'Commissioner of Oaths' notarising an affidavit.
Vital to ensuring an affidavit’s validity is:
> The date appearing on the affidavit and date stamp by the
‘Commissioner of Oaths’ must be the same.
> Any alterations, such as corrections, cross-outs or
additions made to an affidavit, must be witnessed by both
parties by initialling any alteration.
The information requirements of an
affidavit deponent are:
Name of the deponent as it appears in the
identity document. The deponent must be an
Owner, Director or Member of a business.
The deponent's South African identity number.
Indicate the designation of the deponent. It will
confirm that they are duly authorised to depose
an affidavit on behalf of the organisation.
The name of the organisation as it appears on
the registration documents.
Indicate whether the organisation trades under
a different name than the one registered.
Company registration number as per the
enterprise registration documents issued by
the CIPC at the time of registration.
Company VAT number, if applicable.
The physical address where the business is
operational.
Indicate the sector the organisation
represents and the nature of the business.
'Black'-owned means a juristic person,
having shareholding or similar member
interest, that is B-BBEE controlled, in which
'Black' Participants enjoy a percentage of
exercisable Voting Rights, Economic Interest
and have earned all points under Net Value.
These are determined under Code series
100, the total of such rights measured using
the 'Flow-Through' Principle. If applicable,
insert the percentage of 'Black' Ownership
and beneficiaries, the definition of which is on
page one of the affidavit.
If applicable, insert the percentage of ‘Black’ woman Ownership,
percentage of ‘Black’ Women holding Voting Rights, Economic Interest
and have earned all points under Net Value. These are determined under Code
series 100, the total of such rights measured using the 'Flow-Through' Principle.
If applicable, insert the percentage of Ownership held by 'Black' Designated Groups. The definition appears on page one of the affidavit.
If applicable, insert the total Ownership held by ‘Black’ Youth, which are people between the ages of 14 and 35.
f applicable, insert the total Ownership held by 'Black' People with
disabilities as defined in the Code of Good
Practice on the employment of people with
disabilities issued under the Employment
Equity Act.
If applicable, insert the total Ownership
held by ‘Black’ Unemployed People, which
category relates to 'Black' People that are not
attending, and not required by law to attend,
an educational institution and not awaiting
admission to such an institution.
If applicable, insert the total Ownership
held by 'Black' People living in rural and
undeveloped areas.
If applicable, insert the total Ownership held by
‘Black’ Military Veterans. The Defence Sector
Code clarifies the qualifying criteria for ‘Black
Military Veterans’. For this definition, it relates
to any ‘Black’ South African Citizen who:
> Rendered military service to any
of the Non-Statutory Military
Organisations that were involved in
South Africa’s Liberation between
1960 and 1994;
> Served in the Union Defence Force
before 1961;
> Became a member of the new
South African National Defence
Force after 1994; and
> Completed their military training but
no longer perform military services
and were not dishonourably
discharged from that military
organisation or force. The definition
does not exclude any person
referred to in paragraphs 4.5.1
or 4.5.2 who could not complete
their military training due to an
injury during military training or
contracted a disease.
Include the date of the latest financial year end-for example,
28th February 2022.
Tick the box that indicates the ‘Black’ Ownership status, which will allocate an organisation’s Preferential Procurement Recognition level.
Full signature of the deponent. The deponent must sign the affidavit in the presence of a 'Commissioner of Oaths' with no conflict of interest.
Must include the day, month and year of notarisation. Important to note that the date must be the date that appears on the notarised
stamp or the affidavit is invalid.
‘Commissioner of Oaths’ to sign and stamp the affidavit. To reiterate – if the day, month and year featuring under the deponent's
signature in any way differs from that of the 'Commissioner of Oaths', the affidavit is deemed invalid.