BIC - What if I am involved in more than one activity?

If you are self-employed and involved in more than one activity at the same time, choose the BIC code that relates to the predominant activity or contact ACC.

Note: for levy purposes ACC may use the code of an activity you undertake that attracts the highest levy rate. 

If you are a business with employees and involved in more than one activity at the same time, choose the code that relates to the predominant activity of your business or contact ACC. 

Note: for levy purposes ACC may use the code of an activity you undertake that attracts the highest levy rate. 

Some businesses may qualify, for ACC purposes, to have their levies based on multiple classification units if the criteria in the guidelines below are met. 

Note: self-employed is not eligible for multiple classification units. 

Any request to use multiple ACC classification units must be made directly to ACC. If you require more information, contact ACC. 

The following guidelines explain the multiple classification unit rules. 

The business must have distinct and independent activities. Each activity must provide a service to an external customer. Providing an internal service is not classified separately. Any one activity must be able to continue without adaptation if all the others cease to exist. Producing raw materials for, and selling the production from, a manufacturing unit are not separate activities. 

The accounting records must demonstrate the separate management and operation of each activity. Regularly produced management accounts are more likely to satisfy this condition than annual accounts. Accounts created retrospectively do not demonstrate the separate management of the activity during the year. Accounts must mirror the organisational structure to demonstrate separate management. A good practical test is whether the accounting records would establish a value for the activity if it were sold. All income and expense items should be attributed to the activity at source (reallocation on a percentage or share basis is usually unsatisfactory). The accounting records must contain all relevant income and expenses, including overheads. ACC may ask to view accounting or wage records. 

There must be records showing the earnings of employees separately for each activity. Separate activities cannot exist if all staff are shared. Separate payroll systems are not required. The wage records may be kept on a central system. For employees engaged in two or more activities, the highest rated applicable classification must be used but ignore any activity that provides 5% or less of an employee’s earnings. If a company is a consolidated group filing an IR4 return, individual PAYE returns must still be filed for each employing company in the group. Each of those companies must use a classification (or classifications) based solely on its own activity. The nominated company may not use multiple classifications to describe the activities of the other companies in the consolidated group.