Registration of major B-BBEE transactions

In terms of the notice, any Major B-BBEE Transaction having a Transaction Value of at least R25 million must be registered with the B-BBEE Commission. A Major B-BBEE Transaction is any transaction that has resulted or will result in a measured entity claiming ownership points in terms of the ownership scorecard of the applicable BEE codes of good practice. The notice provides that Transaction Value excludes administration, professional and legal fees. The notice takes effect immediately.

Every transaction concluded on or after 24 October 2014 must be registered. All parties to the transaction have a collective responsibility to register the transaction.

The regulations to the B-BBEE Act prescribe the requirements for registering Major B-BBEE Transactions. Parties must submit the transaction for registration within 15 business days after concluding the transaction. The regulations state that the requirement for registration is not a requirement to obtain the Commission’s consent for the transaction. The regulations provide that the Commission is entitled to advise the parties of any concerns that the Commission has regarding the transaction, and the parties must then take steps to address the Commission’s concerns. If adequate steps are not taken, the Commission can then initiate an investigation in terms of the B-BBEE Act into the transaction.

Given the retrospective requirement, parties will have to give consideration to whether B-BBEE ownership transactions that they’ve entered into from 24 October 2014 require registration.