Glossary

The words, in plain English

49 terms you will meet in B-BBEE, Employment Equity, skills development, public procurement and emissions reporting. Short definitions, checked against the source rules as at November 2026.

0-9

12H allowance: A tax allowance for employers on registered learnership agreements. It covers agreements entered into before 1 April 2027; speak to your tax practitioner about how it applies to you.
80/20 and 90/10: The two preference point systems under the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2022. 80/20 applies to tenders up to and including R50 million, 90/10 above that; the smaller number is the points available for the buyer's specific goals.

A

ATR: Annual Training Report. The record of training delivered in the past year, submitted to your SETA with the WSP by 30 April.

B

B-BBEE: Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. The framework, set by the B-BBEE Act and the Codes of Good Practice, for measuring a business's contribution to economic transformation.
B-BBEE certificate: The document a SANAS-accredited verification agency issues after it has verified your scorecard. It is valid for 12 months.

C

Carbon tax: A tax on greenhouse gas emissions under the Carbon Tax Act 15 of 2019, administered by SARS. The annual account and payment are due in July, by the second-last working day.
Codes of Good Practice: The gazetted rules for measuring B-BBEE. The amended Generic and QSE Codes (2019) apply unless a sector code covers your business.
COIDA: The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. Employers register with the Compensation Fund, and many tenders ask for a COIDA letter of good standing.
CSD: Central Supplier Database. National Treasury's free register of suppliers to the state; it checks your details against SARS, CIPC and your bank.

D

Designated employer: Under the Employment Equity Act, an employer with 50 or more employees, or one designated in another way under the Act, such as a municipality or an organ of state. The old turnover test fell away on 1 January 2025.

E

EAP: Economically active population. The national or provincial demographic benchmark that Employment Equity and management control targets are set against.
EE plan: A designated employer's Employment Equity plan, recorded on the EEA13 template. The current plan period runs from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030.
EEA12: The template for the workforce analysis under section 19: the profile of your workforce and a review of barriers in policies and practices.
EEA13: The template for the EE plan. It is a working document you keep, not a form you submit each year.
EEA14: The notice a designated employer gives when it cannot submit its EE report on time, due by the last working day of August.
EEA15: The request for a section 53 Employment Equity compliance certificate.
EEA2: The annual Employment Equity report a designated employer submits to the Department of Employment and Labour.
EEA4: The statement of income differentials submitted with the EEA2. It goes to the Department and is not made public.
EME: Exempted Micro Enterprise. A business with annual turnover of R10 million or less. It confirms its B-BBEE status with a sworn affidavit, not a scorecard.
Emission factor: A published number that converts an activity, such as litres of diesel or kilowatt hours, into greenhouse gas emissions. Every reported figure should name the factor and its version.
ESD: Enterprise and supplier development. A priority element of the B-BBEE scorecard covering preferential procurement, supplier development and enterprise development.
Evidence ledger: An append-only record of activity data with the source, method and factor behind each entry. It records evidence for third-party verification; it does not create or claim carbon credits.

F

Fronting: A practice that undermines B-BBEE, such as window-dressing, diverting benefits or placing people in name only. It is a criminal offence under section 13O of the B-BBEE Act.

G

Generic entity: A business with annual turnover above R50 million, measured on the full Generic scorecard unless a sector code applies.

M

Management control: The B-BBEE element that measures black representation on the board and in executive and senior management.
Mandatory grant: The share of your skills levy a SETA pays back when you submit the WSP and ATR on time and your levies are paid up.

N

NGER: The National Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulations. Registered data providers report the previous calendar year's emissions by 31 March.

O

Ownership: The B-BBEE element that measures black ownership, including voting rights, economic interest and net value. It is a priority element.

P

PPPFA: The Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act. With the Preferential Procurement Regulations 2022, it sets how preference points work on public tenders.
Priority element: Ownership, skills development and enterprise and supplier development. A Generic entity must meet the 40% sub-minimum on all three; a QSE on ownership plus one of the other two. Missing a required one drops the level by one.

Q

QCTO: The Quality Council for Trades and Occupations. It accredits providers of occupational qualifications; new programmes are QCTO-accredited.
QSE: Qualifying Small Enterprise. A business with annual turnover above R10 million, up to R50 million. If it is 51% or more black-owned it may use a sworn affidavit; otherwise a SANAS-accredited agency verifies its QSE scorecard.

R

Reasonable grounds: The reasons an employer may give for not meeting an Employment Equity target, such as too few recruitment opportunities or a merger. With reasonable grounds there is no penalty.

S

SAGERS: The South African Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting System, the online system through which NGER reports are submitted.
SANAS: The South African National Accreditation System. It accredits the verification agencies that verify B-BBEE scorecards.
SBD forms: Standard bidding documents in public tenders, such as SBD 1, SBD 4 and SBD 6.1. Municipalities use the MBD equivalents.
Scope 1, 2 and 3: The three groups of greenhouse gas emissions: direct emissions you control, emissions from the electricity you buy, and the rest of your value chain.
SDL: Skills development levy. 1% of payroll, payable by employers whose annual payroll is above R500 000.
Section 53 certificate: An Employment Equity compliance certificate that employers contracting with the state need. It is valid for 12 months.
Sector code: A version of the B-BBEE Codes for a particular sector, such as Construction or ICT. Where it applies, it replaces the Generic Codes.
SED: Socio-economic development. The B-BBEE element that measures contributions that help black people and communities become economically active.
SETA: Sector Education and Training Authority. Employers with an annual payroll above R500 000 pay a 1% skills levy through SARS, and their SETA (one of 21) receives it, along with their WSP and ATR.
Skills development: The B-BBEE element that measures spending on training black employees and unemployed black people, including learnerships. It is a priority element.
Sub-minimum: The minimum share of a priority element's points, 40%, that you must reach on each required priority element to avoid dropping a level.
Sworn affidavit: A statement made under oath on the official template and commissioned by a commissioner of oaths. EMEs, and QSEs that are 51% or more black-owned, use it to confirm their B-BBEE status. It is an affidavit, not a certificate.

T

TCS PIN: The SARS Tax Compliance Status PIN. Bidders request it on eFiling under Good Standing so buyers can check their tax status.

V

Verification agency: A B-BBEE rating agency accredited by SANAS. It tests your evidence and issues a B-BBEE certificate. We work alongside the one you appoint.

W

WSP: Workplace Skills Plan. The training plan for the coming year, submitted to your SETA with the ATR by 30 April.

Y

YES: The Youth Employment Service. Businesses that create 12-month paid work experience for black youth, on top of their existing headcount, can earn B-BBEE recognition if they meet the conditions.

General guidance, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Missing a term? Ask us.