This document summarizes key aspects of South Africa's Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Amendment Bill, which cracks down on the misrepresentation of B-BBEE status and "fronting". It notes that knowingly providing false information to obtain a particular B-BBEE status or benefit is now a criminal offense. Verification agencies and companies can face liability for such misrepresentation. Penalties for offenses include fines up to 10% of annual turnover and bans from contracting with government. It advises companies to ensure their B-BBEE compliance level and information provided to verification agencies is accurate.

1. B-BBEE AMENDMENT BILL
GETS TOUGH ON MISREPRESENTATION OF BEE
STATUS AND FRONTING
December 2011 government dropped a
bomb on unethical pretenders. Best you
recheck your impressive status, and make
sure everything is above board!

2. INTERNAL SCORE-CARD
 Assess your compliance level, avoid unnecessary
prosecution.
 Become conversant with the codes of good practice,
make sure you understand exactly how scores are
attained.
 Bring your organisation in alignment and find out how to
move from being BEE compliant towards being BEE
competitive.
 Contact Russell Florence on 0815816998 or Rosaline
on 0746100345

3. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES

( 1) A person is guilty of an offence if that person
knowingly -
(a) misrepresents or attempts to misrepresent the
B-BBEE status of an enterprise:
 Simply put; having an invalid compliance level or a
token employee is now a criminal offence. Both
Verification Agency and company will be held
criminally liable for such misrepresentation.

4. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
 (b) provides false information or misrepresents
information to the Verification Personnel in order to
secure a particular BBBEE status or any benefit
associated with the compliance
with this Act:
 It is up to you to recheck the information your
consultants and BEE Champions sent to the
Verification Agency.
 Simply trusting that you deserve a competitive BEE
level based on your consultants work, is like buying
a car for a ridiculous low amount without checking
the paperwork, you will be held responsible.

5. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
 (c) provides false information or misrepresents information relevant
to assessing the B-BBEE status of an enterprise to any organ of
state or public entity.
 All the information you provided sits with the Verification Agency, if
this information is found to be false, your organisation going to court
will probably attract publicity…the risks are too high.

6. IMPLICATIONS
 Any person convicted of an offence in terms of this Act. is
liable:-
(a) in case of a contravention of sub-section (1), to a fine or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years or to both a
fine and imprisonment: or
 b) in any other case to a fine or to imprisonment for a period
not
exceeding 12 months or to both a fine and imprisonment:
(c) in the case of an enterprise. to a fine of 10% of that
enterprise's
annual turnover.

7. IMPLICATIONS CONTINUED
 ) In addition. any person and/or entity convicted of an
offence under subsections (1) or (3} of section 20, shall
be banned from contracting or transacting any business
with any organ of state and/or public entity.
and shall be entered into the National Treasury register of
tender
defaulters.
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24 No.34845 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 9 DECEMBER
2011