# Regulatory Compliance Category > BEE and Employment Equity Forum >  Where can I read more about BEE?

## pietpetoors

Where can I read more about when you have to apply BEE?

Is it compulsory to all businesses or only if you want to do business with government and other big businesses?

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## Greig Whitton

B-BBEE compliance is voluntary, so you never *have* to apply. That said, a company's B-BBEE rating is having an increasingly pervasive impact on their competitiveness. The obvious impact is securing tenders and contracts from government or other companies (especially with the new Codes taking effect from the start of this month). However, there are other important implications as well (e.g. applying to government funding and business development programs). So even if you only supply the general public, your B-BBEE rating may still be very important.

If you want more information about B-BBEE you can, of course, download a copy of the legislation from the Department of Trade and Industry's website.

I ran a webinar last month on the new B-BBEE Codes, and you are more than welcome to watch some of the recorded footage from that workshop (the emphasis is on the ownership implications of the new B-BBEE Codes, particularly for owner-run SMEs). I've also blogged about some of the pivotal changes introduced by the new Codes, why the new Codes will make it more important to get certified, as well as how the new Codes provide black business owners with massive advantages and white owners with massive disadvantages.

We've also got a series of concise guides that explain how B-BBEE works in plain English, as well as calculators and other resources that help small business owners implement B-BBEE in their business.

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IanF (09-May-15)

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## Blurock

> how the new Codes provide black business owners with massive advantages and white owners with massive disadvantages


So in other words, it is racist in nature? Is that not a contravention of international and local laws? :Detective:

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## Greig Whitton

> So in other words, it is racist in nature? Is that not a contravention of international and local laws?


We already have a forum thread devoted to opinions and speculation about the ethics and legality of B-BBEE.

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## pietpetoors

Thank you Greig. That is good news. We sell to private individuals we are not interested in Government contracts. So we can relax and attend to business as usual.

Blurock, I agree 100% with you, BEE is the most blatant form of racism. I saw on another thread the way of structuring your business is to create a Trust and make all black employees beneficiaries of that trust. I mean that it the most blatant of blatant racism and it forces you to discriminate against your own people. But as Greig said, there is a thread specific for that.

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## IanF

Here is a downloadable affidavit for businesses under R10 m turnover. bee.b1sa.co.za/docs/Affidavit_Template_EME.pdf

I will try this and see if I get any negative customer feedback.

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## pietpetoors

If it is not compulsory, what is the affidavit for then?

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## Greig Whitton

The affidavit is for certification purposes. Normally, a company would have its B-BBEE rating independently certified. However, Exempt Micro Enterprises (i.e. any business with an annual turnover below R10 million) and black-owned Qualifying Small Enterprises (i.e. any business with an annual turnover between R10 million and R50 million) can instead use a sworn affidavit in lieu of independent certification. Given that independent certification can be an expensive and laborious process, the sworn affidavit option makes B-BBEE compliance quicker, easier, and less expensive for SMEs and black business owners.

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