Amended B-BBEE Codes are the Codes of Good Practice gazetted on 11 October 2013, and they remain the rulebook that decides how almost every empowerment scorecard in the country is measured. Our guide to empowerment in South Africa shows where they sit in the wider compliance picture; this reference goes one level deeper, into the gazetted text itself.
Very few finance teams read the gazette. They read verification reports and consultants’ summaries, which paraphrase the rules. That works until a point is disputed or a subsidiary turns out to belong to an industry charter nobody checked.
This guide covers what the framework is, how it is built, what has changed since 2013 and how a large corporate should use it. For the basics, start with our explainer on what a scorecard measures.
Quick Answer
Amended B-BBEE Codes is the common name for the revised framework the Minister of Trade and Industry issued under section 9 of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act. Gazetted on 11 October 2013 and compulsory for verifications from 1 May 2015, it measures five elements: ownership (25 points), management control (19), skills development (20 plus 5 bonus), enterprise and supplier development (40 plus 4 bonus) and socio-economic development (5). Annual turnover above R50 million means the Generic Scorecard, R10 million to R50 million means the QSE scorecard, and R10 million or less means an exempted micro enterprise. Where a gazetted sector code exists, it replaces the generic text for that industry.
Not certain whether your group is measured on the Generic Scorecard, the QSE scorecard or an industry charter? Ask us to confirm which rules apply to you →
What the Amended B-BBEE Codes Actually Are
Start with the law, because everything else hangs from it. The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003 sets the policy, the definitions and the institutions. It does not tell a company how many points a learnership earns. Section 9 gives that job to the Minister, who may issue and amend measurement rules by notice in the Government Gazette.
The first set of rules was gazetted in February 2007. It measured seven elements, treated businesses with turnover of R5 million or less as exempted micro enterprises, and let small enterprises choose any four of the seven elements. Six years later the then Department of Trade and Industry replaced it.
That 2013 revision cut seven elements to five. Employment equity moved inside management control. Preferential procurement and enterprise development merged into a single enterprise and supplier development element. The size thresholds rose to R10 million and R50 million. And, most importantly for large corporates, three elements became priority elements with sub-minimums that can pull a company down a level.
Measured entities were given a transitional year to adjust, which the Minister later extended to 30 April 2015. From 1 May 2015 every verification had to use the revised text. Every certificate and affidavit issued since then rests on it.
Why a private company cannot ignore a gazette
No private company is fined for holding a Level 8 certificate. So why does the text matter? Section 10 of the Act requires every organ of state and public entity to apply the relevant code when it issues licences, procures, sells state-owned enterprises or awards incentives.
Those obligations flow down the supply chain, because your level also feeds your private customers’ procurement points. A rule buried in a 2013 statement can decide a tender, a licence renewal or a supplier review.
How the Amended B-BBEE Codes Are Structured
Think of the framework as a set of accounting standards. A general statement lays down the principles, then one statement per element sets out definitions, targets and the measurement formula. Each statement sits in a numbered series, and practitioners refer to them by number the way auditors refer to IFRS 15 or IAS 16.
| Statement | What it governs | Generic weighting | Bonus points | Sub-minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000 | General principles, the Generic Scorecard, size thresholds, priority elements and the level table | Not scored | None | Sets the rules for all three priority elements |
| 100 and 103 | Ownership, including equity equivalents for multinationals (Statement 103) | 25 | None | 40% of the 8 net value points |
| 200 | Management control, including the employment equity measures | 19 | None | Not a priority element |
| 300 | Skills development spend, learnerships and absorption | 20 | 5 | 40% of the 20 points |
| 400 | Preferential procurement, supplier development and enterprise development | 40 | 4 | 40% of each of the three categories |
| 500 | Socio-economic development, measured against 1% of net profit after tax | 5 | None | Not a priority element |
| 600 to 605 | The QSE scorecard, gazetted in May 2015 | 100 in total | Skills and ESD bonuses | Ownership plus either skills or ESD |
Statement 000 is the one most people skip and the one that settles most arguments. It holds the principle that substance takes precedence over legal form, the rules for groups and joint ventures, the thresholds and the level table.
Statement 004 sets specialised scorecards for organs of state, public entities, non-profit companies and similar bodies whose ownership cannot be measured in the usual way. Schedule 1 holds the definitions, and it repays close reading: terms like “absorption” and “leviable amount” carry precise meanings that change how a rand is recognised.
The element statements follow one pattern: definitions, a compliance target, weighting points and a formula for partial achievement. Supplier development, for example, measures contributions against 2% of net profit after tax.
Small enterprises sit in their own series. Statement 600 sets the QSE framework and Statements 601 to 605 cover each element, weighted at 25 for ownership, 15 for management control, 25 for skills development, 30 for enterprise and supplier development and 5 for socio-economic development. Our guide to the EME, QSE and Generic scorecards compares them side by side.
The summary table is not the rule
The Generic Scorecard table in Statement 000 lists management control at 15 points, which gives a total of 105. The detailed scorecard in Statement 200 adds up to 19 points, which is why practitioners quote 109. Verification follows the detailed statement. The lesson applies across the framework: a summary is a guide to the text, never a substitute for it.
Size Decides Which Scorecard Measures You
Before anyone counts a point, Statement 000 sorts every business into one of three size bands by annual total revenue. The band decides the scorecard, the evidence you need and how many priority elements apply.
| Category | Annual total revenue | How it is measured | Typical outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exempted micro enterprise | R10 million or less | Sworn affidavit, no scorecard | Level 4 by default; Level 2 at 51% black ownership; Level 1 at 100% |
| Qualifying small enterprise | R10 million to R50 million | Affidavit if at least 51% black owned; otherwise the QSE scorecard, verified | Ownership is compulsory, plus one of skills development or ESD |
| Large enterprise | Above R50 million | Generic Scorecard, verified by a SANAS-accredited agency | All five elements and all three priority elements |
Two details catch growing companies out. A start-up is measured as an exempted micro enterprise in its first year, which can breed false comfort. And several industry charters set their own thresholds, so a QSE under the generic text can be a large enterprise under its sector rules.
Points convert to levels on one table. One hundred points or more earns Level 1 and 135% procurement recognition; 80 to 89 points earns Level 4 at 100%; below 40 points is non-compliant.
Priority Elements and the One-Level Discount
Here is the clause that turns a respectable score into a disappointing certificate. Ownership, skills development and enterprise and supplier development are priority elements. A large enterprise must meet a sub-minimum in all three; a QSE must meet ownership plus either of the other two.
The sub-minimums are set at 40%, but each is measured differently. Ownership looks at the net value indicator, so a company needs at least 3.2 of the 8 points. Skills development needs 8 of the 20 points, excluding bonuses. Enterprise and supplier development needs 40% of each category separately: 10 of the 25 procurement points, 4 of the 10 supplier development points and 2 of the 5 enterprise development points.
Miss any one of them and the entity drops one level below the level its points would otherwise earn. A company with 82 points, comfortably Level 4 on the table, becomes Level 5 and its customers recognise 80% of their spend instead of 100%. Our detailed guide to priority elements and sub-minimums works through the arithmetic.
What Changed in 2018 and 2019
The 2013 framework has not stood still. Two sets of changes, both made by gazette notice, matter to every large corporate measured today.
The Youth Employment Service, August 2018. Notice 502 in Government Gazette 41866 added the YES initiative to the general principles with immediate effect. A measured entity that creates new 12-month jobs for black youth aged 18 to 35, meets its target and maintains or improves its level can move up one or two levels, depending on how far it exceeds the target.
The 2019 revisions. Gazette 42496, published on 31 May 2019, revised Statements 000, 300 and 400 and Schedule 1, with effect from 1 December 2019. In skills development, the learning programme target of 6% of the leviable amount was split into 3.5% for general training of black people and 2.5% for bursaries for black students at higher education institutions.
The same notice raised the cap on informal training from 15% to 25% of the spend, allowed stipends for bursary students to count, and redefined absorption so that only a long-term contract of employment qualifies. A six-month contract at the end of a learnership no longer earns the absorption bonus.
In enterprise and supplier development, procurement from suppliers that are at least 51% black owned rose to 11 points against a 50% target. The 1.2 multiplier for first-time suppliers fell away, and a measured entity may keep recognising support for a beneficiary for up to five years after it grows beyond QSE size.
Still running your skills plan on pre-2019 targets, or counting short contracts as absorption? Have us read your plan against the current statements →
When a Sector Code Replaces the Generic Text
Section 9 also allows the Minister to gazette a sector code, usually developed by an industry charter council. Once gazetted, it binds businesses in that sector, which are measured under it instead of the generic statements. Financial services, construction, property, ICT, tourism, agriculture, transport and forestry each have one.
A sector code follows the generic architecture and then adjusts targets, weightings and sometimes size thresholds to fit the industry. That is why two companies with identical turnover can face different ownership targets or procurement percentages. Our comparison of generic and sector scorecards explains the mechanics, and the sector charter update tracks which ones have been revised recently.
Diversified groups need particular care. A holding company with a property arm and a logistics business may have subsidiaries measured under different rules. The verification agency will test which code governs each entity, so settle it at the start of the cycle.
Guidance that sits alongside the text
The B-BBEE Commission publishes practice guides, explanatory notices and non-binding advisory opinions; Practice Guide 01 of 2017, for example, covers the modified flow-through principle. They show how the Commission reads the statements, but only a gazetted notice can change the rules.
Applying the Amended B-BBEE Codes to Your Business
Knowing the structure is useful. Turning it into a certificate takes a routine that finance, HR and procurement can follow without reopening the gazette every month.
Classify every entity. Confirm revenue, size band and any sector code, entity by entity, and record the evidence. Group structures change, and last year’s answer may no longer hold.
Fix the measurement period. The rules in force during your financial year apply. A company whose year straddled 1 December 2019 had to know which version governed which spend.
Map data to statements. Payroll feeds skills development, the supplier master file feeds procurement and the share register feeds ownership. Map each source to a named indicator so nobody argues later about where a rand belongs.
Protect the priority elements. Budget for the sub-minimums before you budget for points. Clearing every sub-minimum narrowly beats scoring brilliantly on four elements and missing the fifth.
Build the evidence file as you go. Verifiers test claims against the wording. If the text requires a long-term contract, the file needs the contract, not a payroll extract.
One Group, Two Readings of the Same Text
The figures below are an illustrative composite drawn from typical diversified-group mandates, not a single client. The group has annual turnover of about R420 million across a property subsidiary and a logistics operation, and had been measuring both on the Generic Scorecard.
| Measure | Before the line-by-line review | After the line-by-line review |
|---|---|---|
| Rules applied to the property subsidiary | Generic Scorecard by default | Property sector code, as gazetted |
| Skills spend claimed | R3.4 million, of which R1.1 million failed verification | R3.1 million, all of it accepted |
| Informal training share of skills spend | 38% of the total | 22% of the total, inside the 25% cap |
| Skills development sub-minimum | Missed, level discounted | Met with 11.6 of 20 points |
| Overall level of the logistics operation | Level 6 after the discount | Level 4 |
| Recognition its customers can claim | 60% of spend | 100% of spend |
The group spent slightly less on skills, not more. It reclassified one subsidiary, moved informal training back inside the cap and stopped claiming short contracts as absorption.
Precision beats volume
Most lost points are not lost through a lack of spend. They are lost because a claim does not match the wording of the statement it relies on: the wrong scorecard, a capped category, a definition read loosely. Fixing the reading is cheaper than increasing the budget, and the gain repeats every year.
The 2026 Draft Amendments: Watch Closely, Do Not Act Yet
On 29 January 2026 the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition published draft amendments in Government Gazette 54032, with a 60-day comment period that closed at the end of March. The drafts cover Statements 000, 004, 103 and 400, the QSE series and Schedule 1.
The headline proposal is a Transformation Fund. A measured entity could contribute 3% of net profit after tax to a pooled fund as an alternative route to enterprise and supplier development recognition. The drafts also rework the procurement indicators in favour of fully black-owned suppliers and add needs analyses and annual monitoring reports as conditions for recognition.
Until a final notice is gazetted, these remain proposals, and verifications continue on the 2013 text as revised in 2019. Budget on that basis, but model the drafts against your own scorecard so the decision is ready if the final version follows them.
Who This Is NOT For
Owners who only need an affidavit. If your turnover is R10 million or less, or you are a black-owned QSE, a sworn affidavit settles your status. This reference is more than you need.
Teams looking for a loophole. Statement 000 puts substance ahead of legal form. A reading designed to claim points without real transformation will not survive verification.
Readers after industry-specific targets. This guide explains the generic framework. If a sector code governs your business, you need that code’s own text.
Anyone already in a legal dispute. If a certificate has been challenged or a fronting complaint lodged, you need legal counsel first.
Who this does suit: finance directors, transformation managers and board committees at corporates with turnover above R50 million, especially groups with several subsidiaries, a mixed sector footprint or a recent discounted certificate they cannot fully explain.
How Insignis Reads the Gazetted Statements Line by Line
We start with the text, not the template. Before we open a spreadsheet, we confirm which version of which statement governs each entity for the year being measured, including any sector code or transitional provision. Get that wrong and every later calculation is wrong too.
Then we test each claim against the exact wording it relies on. Is the absorbed learner on a long-term contract? Is informal training inside the cap? These are the questions a verifier asks, and we would rather you heard them from us first.
Because the conclusions have to stand up to a verifier and a board at the same time, we document them the way an auditor documents a technical position. Our transformation advisory team carries that discipline from the first classification decision through to the final certificate.
For the primary source, the government notice of the 11 October 2013 gazette carries the full revised text as a downloadable PDF, with a link to the May 2015 amendment.
Want to know exactly which statements your next verification will test? Book a short applicability conversation with our team →
Frequently Asked Questions
Under which law are the Codes of Good Practice issued?
They are issued by the Minister responsible for trade and industry under section 9 of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003. The Minister can amend them, and gazette sector codes, by notice in the Government Gazette.
When did the 2013 revisions become compulsory?
The revised framework was gazetted on 11 October 2013 with a transitional period that was extended to 30 April 2015. From 1 May 2015, all verifications had to be done under the revised text.
What is the difference between the Generic and QSE scorecards?
The Generic Scorecard applies to businesses with annual turnover above R50 million and weights the five elements at 25, 19, 20, 40 and 5 points. The QSE scorecard applies between R10 million and R50 million, totals 100 points and requires only two priority elements.
Does a sector code override the Generic Scorecard?
Yes. Once a sector code is gazetted under section 9, businesses in that sector are measured under it instead of the generic statements. Its targets, weightings and sometimes its size thresholds can differ from the generic rules.
What happens if we miss a priority element sub-minimum?
Your level is discounted by one. A large enterprise must achieve 40% of the ownership net value points, 40% of the skills development points and 40% of each enterprise and supplier development category to avoid the discount.
Are the 2026 draft amendments in force yet?
No. Gazette 54032 of 29 January 2026 published them for public comment only. Until a final notice is gazetted, verifications continue under the 2013 framework as revised in 2019.
Find out exactly which rules measure your business
A Codes applicability check confirms the size band, the generic or sector code and the scorecard that governs each entity in your group, the priority elements you must clear and the statements your evidence will be tested against. You receive a short applicability memo you can share with your board and your verification agency.
No obligation. We will get back to you within 24 hours.
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Dr. Este Welman, CA(SA)
Founding Partner, Insignis Solutions
Dr. Welman is a Chartered Accountant holding a PhD in Economic Transformation from the Da Vinci Institute, an M.Comm in Tax from North-West University, and a B-BBEE Management Diploma from Wits. She reads a gazetted statement the way she reads an accounting standard, starting with the definitions and the effective date before she looks at a single target.