Over 100 major Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) transactions have been received by the B-BBEE Commission, which is currently assessing them.
“As at 25 August 2017, the B-BBEE Commission has received 148 major B-BBEE transactions, in line with the requirement of the B-BBEE Act, and is currently in the process of assessing them for compliance with the B-BBEE Act,” said the commission.
The B-BBEE Commission, which is an entity of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), has 90 days to consider each transaction and will advise the parties if there are any areas of concern regarding the deals that must be remedied.
“In terms of section 13F (1) (f) of the B-BBEE Act, every B-BBEE ownership transaction, with a value of R25 million, must be submitted to the B-BBEE Commission for registration within 15 days after it has been concluded,” said the commission on Friday.
This talks to any sale of shares, assets or business but excludes equity equivalent transactions concluded in respect of multinationals, with the approval of the Minister of Trade and Industry.
“If a company has signed on a B-BBEE ownership deal recently, the B-BBEE Commission is waiting for it within the 15 days set.”
After Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies issued a notice in the government gazette determining the threshold of R25 million on 9 June 2017, all old transactions that were concluded from 24 October 2014 to 8 June 2017 had to be registered within 60 days from 9 June 2017.
The commission said the timeline has since passed and that those who have not yet registered their deals are in breach of the B-BBEE Act. If breach of the Act is uncovered, this could attract penalties of up to 10% of the annual turnover or imprisonment of up to ten years.
“The B-BBEE Commission urges parties to approach it for assistance and guidance to improve compliance on these matters,” said the commission.
The list of transactions already registered, as at 25 August 2017, will be available on the website www.bbbeecommission.co.za and updated from time to time.
The commission was announced by Minister Davies in October 2015. At the time, Minister Davies said the commission would deal with fronting, fraud and other issues that affect BEE.
The commission has the ability to address fronting, as well as to introduce mechanisms to prevent it from happening.
The B-BBEE Commission effectively commenced with its operations on 1 April 2016. – SAnews.gov.za
