| (1) | A co-operative may allocate and credit or pay to its members a portion of the surplus that is not transferred as a reserve to a indivisible reserve in terms of section 3(1)(e) and such a portion must be allocated in proportion to the value of transactions conducted by a member with a co-operative during a specified period. |
| (2) | For the purpose of subsection (1), the board of directors must, when determining the amount of business done by each member with a co–operative in a financial year, take into account— |
| (a) | the quantity, quality, kind and value of things bought, sold, handled, marketed or dealt with by the co–operative; and |
| (b) | the services rendered— |
| (i) | by the co-operative on behalf of or to the member; and |
| (ii) | by the member on behalf of or to the co-operative. |
| (3) | A co-operative may provide in its constitution that the whole, or a part, of the patronage proportion of a member, determined by the board in respect of a financial year, must be applied to purchase membership shares in the co-operative for the member. |
[Section 44(3) substituted by section 32(a) of Notice No. 558, GG 36729, dated 5 August 2013]
| (4) | If the provisions of subsection (3) apply, the constitution must further provide for— |
| (a) | giving notice to each member of the number of shares purchased or to be purchased for the member; |
| (b) | the manner of issuing or transferring of shares; and |
| (c) | if applicable, issuing and forwarding of share certificates to members. |
(5) The surplus that is—
| (a) | not set aside in a reserve in terms of section 3(1)(e); |
| (b) | not set aside in any additional reserve required by any other applicable law or the constitution of the co-operative; or |
| (c) | not used in the purchase of membership shares in terms of section 44(3), |
may be placed in such fund or funds and used for such purposes as are authorised by the constitution.
[Section 44(5) inserted by section 32(b) of Notice No. 558, GG 36729, dated 5 August 2013]
