Oscar Borchards . . . alternative solution to be monitored until end January. Emerging companies could get free BEE verification ED RICHARDSON GOVERNMENT HAS provided a safety net for certain small companies which cannot afford to pay for BEE verification. Under the conditions for the approval of accreditation agencies, the minister of Trade and Industry makes provision for accreditation agencies to claim points where they “provide verification services to Qualifying Small Enterprises on a low or no cost basis, and then claim recognition for such initiatives as a contribution towards the enterprise development element of its Generic Scorecard under Code 600.” There is, as yet, no finality on what constitutes a Qualifying Small Enterprise in all the different sectors. For now, the guideline in manufacturing is the definition of a micro enterprise as one which has the lesser of: five employees, or a turnover of less than R200 000, or gross assets (excluding fixed property) of less than R100 000. A small enterprise is classified as having the lesser of 50 employees, or a turnover of less than R13 million per annum, or gross assets (excluding property) of R5 million.
