Questions about BEE

[Bunny Jane]

I want to start a business, but I don’t want any partners, just me.
This leads to a potential problem with BEE, I’ve tried finding answers on the internet but all I found was confusion, so now I’m just going to ask the questions here.
First thing I want to know is, do all companies have to be BEE compliant or just the ones that want to do business with the government or need special permits like an ICASA license?
The second thing I want to know is, do those “sector charters” apply to newcomers as well?

 

[IzZzy]

First thing I want to know is, do all companies have to be BEE compliant or just the ones that want to do business with the government or need special permits like an ICASA license?

Compliance with BEE is not compulsory. But if you want to solicit work from Government (who apply the 80/20 principle or 90/10 principle, depending on the contract value) or want to supply to businesses who do work for Government, then you would need to maximise your BBBEE points in each of the 5 categories. Ownership is just but one of them.

The second thing I want to know is, do those “sector charters” apply to newcomers as well?

Which sector charter do you refer? AFAIK there is a specific BBBEE Code that deals with SME businesses where you get a default rating level of 4 (would need to double check this).

 

[Franna]

http://www.bee-scorecard.co.za/bee_information.html

1.5 What is an Exempted Micro-Enterprise (EME)?

An EME is a business that has an annual turnover of R5 million or less (or R2,5 million in the tourism industry) OR a business that is less than 1 year old. Such businesses qualify for a Level 4 BEE certificate (Level Four is considered fully Compliant) undergoing a full BEE audit.

 

[Wyzak]

It's not really a problem for small companies (up to about 50 employees). If your company grows bigger than that it will start becoming a problem.