Most companies operating in South Africa are familiar with terms such as B-BBEE, Codes, Sector Codes and Charters.
Nevertheless, the nature of your business and the industry or sector in which your company operates, are both vital aspects which need to be considered when establishing whether a Sector Code or Transformation Charter will most likely dictate how your company’s B-BBEE status will be determined.
As each organization is different based on size, industry and its nature of business, specific targets and measurement criteria need to be created for each applicable industry in order to ensure that organizations and their businesses are measured equally and fairly for B-BBEE compliance. As such, the B-BBEE Act aims to rectify this issue by making provision for Transformation Charters. These Transformation Charters can either be gazetted in terms of Section 9 or Section 12 of the act, with the difference between the two being that:
- Codes, Sector Codes, Clarification and/or Practice Notes gazetted in terms of Section 9, are legally binding on organs of state and public entities, with
- Charters gazetted in terms of Section 12, not being legally binding as it merely expresses an industry’s commitment to transformation. In cases where Transformation Charters have been gazetted, the 2013 General Amended Codes will need to be relied on for B-BBEE verification purposes.
To date, the following Sector Codes have been gazetted, all of which being effective from date of issue:
| Codes / Sector Codes | Effective Date |
| Transport Sector Code – General Notice, Preamble & definitions | 21 August 2009 |
| Transport Sector Code – Domestic Aviation | 21 August 2009 |
| Transport Sector Code – Forwarding & Clearing | 21 August 2009 |
| Transport Sector Code – Maritime Transport & Services Industry | 21 August 2009 |
| Transport Sector Code – Public Sector | 21 August 2009 |
| Transport Sector Code – Rail | 21 August 2009 |
| Transport Sector Code – Road Freight | 21 August 2009 |
| Transport Sector Code – Taxi | 21 August 2009 |
| Transport Sector Code – Bus, Commuter & Coach Services | 21 August 2009 |
| Amended Tourism Sector Code | 20 November 2015 |
| MAC Sector Code – Marketing, Advertising & Communication | 01 April 2016 |
| Amended ICT Sector Code – Information and Communication Technology | 07 November 2016 |
| Amended Forestry Sector Code | 21 April 2017 |
| Amended Property Sector Code | 09 June 2017 |
| Amended Construction Sector Code | 01 December 2017 |
| Amended Financial Services Sector Code | 01 December 2017 |
| Amended Agri Sector Code | 08 December 2017 |
| Defence Sector Code | 09 November 2018 |
It is important to note that the following still needs to be finalised and gazetted:
| Codes / Sector Codes | Status | Issue Date |
| Draft Amended Transport Sector Codes | Final draft gazetted for comment | 06 February 2016 |
| Draft Amended Chartered Accountancy Sector Codes | Final draft gazetted for comment | 26 April 2019 |
| Draft Chartered Accountancy Sector Code | First draft issued for comment | 26 April 2019 |
| Temporary Employment Services Sector Codes | First draft issued for comment | 01 April 2021 |
| Draft Event Technical and Production Services | First draft issued for comment | 03 September 2021 |
| Draft Legal Sector Code | Final draft gazetted for comment | 22 July 2022 |
Currently two (2) Transformation Charters were enacted as part of amendments to Acts, being:
| Codes / Sector Codes | Issue Date |
| Mining Charter | 27 September 2018 |
| Proclamation re: Petroleum & Liquid Fuels Sector Transformation Charter | 13 September 2017 |
If you are unsure of which Sector Code is applicable to your business or you are questioning whether you have been verified on the correct appliable Codes or Sector Codes, kindly contact LabourNet for assistance.
For more information on the above topic, please contact the LabourNet Helpdesk at
0861 LABNET (0861 522638).
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