One of the biggest misconceptions and/or misunderstandings when it comes to the validity of a B-BBEE Certificate or Affidavit is how to treat them should the stated expiry date have passed.
To understand this, as simply as possible, a B-BBEE Certificate or Affidavit is valid for your client or customers use, subject to:
- It was issued after the end of your financial year, e.g., if your financial year-end was 29/02/2024, and your supplier provided a certificate issued after this date, it is valid for use in your B-BBEE Verification; or
- It was valid for at least 1 (one) day of your financial year, e.g., if your financial year is 01/03/2023 to 29/02/2024, and the certificate received expired within this period, but was valid for at least 1 day of the year, it is valid for use.
The above is important to understand from both sides:
- As the purchaser of goods or services who receives a certificate or affidavit from a supplier or potential supplier, to confirm that the certificate is valid within your financial year, and
- As an organisation who has just had a certificate expire, in most instances your clients and/or customers can still utilise it, so a gap between the expiry of a certificate, and issue of the subsequent certificate is acceptable in most situations.
Please note that this does not apply to any bid for tender, in these instances the certificate or affidavit must be valid at the date of bid submission.
The validity of certificates often leads to rushed and therefore poor business decisions to avoid the impact of a small gap between the current certificate and new certificate issue. It is important for buying managers to understand this so that they do not inadvertently create unnecessary pressure on a thorough and complete audit which may require time for completion.
For any guidance or assistance regarding the above, please reach out to us and we will gladly assist.
Suzaan Bezuidenhout
E:
