B-bbee Exempted Micro Enterprise Affidavit
Under the (2013) Revised B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice, an EME is only required to obtain a sworn affidavit on an annual basis confirming this status. Any entity with an annual revenue less than R10 million qualifies as an Exempt Micro Enterprise (EME). BEE Certificates are no longer used for any Exempt Micro Enterprise Entities who do not fall in any sector charter.
Any EME automatically qualifies as follows:
Level 1 issued if black ownership is 100% (Procurement recognition level of 135%)
Level 2 issued if black ownership is 51% or more (Procurement recognition level of 125%)
Level 4 issued if black ownership is less than 51% (Procurement recognition level of 100%)
“Black” includes African, Indian & Colored South African citizens who became SA citizens before 27 April 1994.
Under the amended BEE Codes all businesses have been given the target of buying 15% of Total Measured Procurement Spend from EME’s each year, thereby increasing the opportunities for growth of EME’s in the country.
If you are measured under a Sector Code, you may continue being rated according to that Sector Code until that Sector Code has been gazetted as a final Sector Code under 9(1). There are three sector Codes that have been gazetted as such:
ICT
MAC
Tourism
All the Sector Codes operate under the existing Sector Codes, other than Construction and Chartered Accountancy, as these two Sector Codes were formally repealed by the Minister of Trade and Industry.
The affidavit must be done on an annual basis and therefore valid for twelve months and needs to confirm the following:
Annual turnover is R10m or less
Level of black ownership
Exempted Micro Enterprises are also automatically “empowering suppliers”. This is a new concept introduced as per the amended codes of good practice with the intention to encourage amongst other things local production/beneficiation. Measured entities will not be able to claim B-BBEE procurement spend from entities that are not “empowering suppliers”.
Any misrepresentation on this affidavit constitutes a criminal offence. As this is sworn declaration of truth, the oath must be taken in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths.
