Modern Quarrying January-February 2017

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Proposed split for Atlas Copco The Atlas Copco board is proposing a split of the Atlas Copco Group. The mining and civil engineering dedicated company will include 12 000 employees, comprising all divisions within the Mining and Rock Excavation Technique Business Area plus the division Construction Tools and related service. The rationale is to ensure that both Atlas Copco and the new company are provided with best growth opportunities in their respective market segments. The new company will have a dedicated board and CEO, which will result in a more agile

company governance and faster response to market require- ments. Operationally there will not be any changes to the exist- ing infrastructure, as there already is a solid organisation in place. The structure will further enable investments in growth areas like automation, digitalisation and service excellence. The new company will be listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange from mid-2018 following approval at the Atlas Copco AGM in April that year. www.atlascopco.com

Navigating B-BBEE Codes “Companies concerned about how the revised Codes of Good Practice will affect their scorecard rating and their business, need not be concerned, as it is feasible to intelligently increase your company rating at a negligible cost,” says Yolandie Botha, head of Innovative BEE Solutions. There are now only three compul- sory categories in the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Codes. Two of the three codes make it possible to earn considerable tax rebates and points by redirecting mandatory expenditure. The updated B-BBEE codes came into effect from May 2015. The revised codes have much stricter rules when it comes to the scoring process and harsher implica- tions for business owners. “The Department of Labour has become more aggressive in implement- ing the Employment Equity Act 2014, which has far stricter penalties for employ- ers who don’t comply with the Act. Many smaller companies without dedicated resources to manage the B-BBEE pro- cess have simply thrown up their arms,” explains Botha. Yet the situation can be managed in a manner which can cost them virtually nothing while potentially improving their competitiveness when tendering for certain contracts. The revised codes of Good Practice will most affect companies that have a revenue of more than R10-million. The Code’s categories for compliance have been condensed from seven to five cat- egories, three of which are regarded as compulsory and must be adhered to in order to be compliant. Botha identifies the three compul- sory categories as Ownership, Skills Development and Enterprise & Supplier

earn points for Code scorecard purposes,” explains Botha. The Codes contain a list of such services which qualify for rand value, including interest-free loans and pre- payments for other services. Other ser- vices commonly bartered in this manner are the provision of protective cloth- ing and equipment, and in-house skills development. Innovative BEE Solutions’ first step when consulting with a new client is to evaluate the company and determine its current status and degree of participation. “If a company has an annual turnover of less than R50-million, it is relatively easy to increase their rating even in the current year. However, when the turnover is above R50-million it is usually necessary to restruc- ture it more substantially for an improve- ment in the following year,”says Botha. “Many business people regard B-BBEE and labour regulations as onerous on small and medium sized enterprises – and they are often surprised to find how easily it can be used to their advantage,” concludes Botha. www.beeratingsolutions.co.za

Development. The broad-based BEE lev- els range from one (the highest) down to eight or non-compliance. She outlines two ways in which com- panies can benefit from the new Codes at short notice. “If a company registers for learnerships, they can immediately receive R40 000 a learner as a tax rebate. This is provided that the learners find employ- ment after their learnership, are black Africans and under the age of 35. In addi- tion to this rebate at the start of the learn- ership, companies can receive another R40 000 at its conclusion. The company also pays a stipend to the learners, which similarly gives a tax rebate,” she adds. “Furthermore, companies are required to pay 6,0% of their payroll towards exter- nal training for black South Africans. This amount can also be claimed back with a Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) from SETA.” Another inexpensive means of improving a company’s B-BBEE rating is to better structure its enterprise devel- opment. Botha says that most companies are typically doing something and incur- ring expense in this category without earning the points. “For instance, companies may occa- sionally use a contractor, but if that con- tractor is not a registered company they earn no scorecard points. On behalf of our clients, Innovative BEE Solutions will look at all your legal requirements and imple- ment the necessary steps to ensure that your contractors are B-BBEE compliant. We also provide the assistance needed to build and grow your business in order for you to earn maximum points and bonus points. It is also possible for each party to provide services to the other for which no money passes hands, but which

Two of the three revised Codes of Good Practice make it possible to earn considerable tax rebates and points by redirecting mandatory expenditure.

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MODERN QUARRYING January - February 2017