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Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
South Africa’s tax watchdog, Tax Justice SA (TJSA), has said there is an urgent need to combat the rampant illicit trade of cigarettes in the country.
Following the intensification of a crackdown on cigarette smuggling activities between South Africa and Zimbabwe, at least three consignments were intercepted in less than 14 days.
A box of cigarettes is bought at an average of US$120 from Zimbabwean producers and can be sold for between US$250 and US$300 to the syndicates who then smuggle them into South Africa where they are sold for anything above R15 000.
In a statement yesterday, TJSA founder, Mr Yusuf Abramjee said the scale of South Africa’s illicit cigarette trade had reached unprecedented levels.
“Despite revelations of some companies’ alleged involvement in multi-billion-rand tax evasion and money-laundering, their brands continue to dominate the South African tobacco market,” he said.
“The latest seizure of a contraband worth an estimated R14 million at the Beitbridge port of entry highlights the alarming persistence of the illicit cigarette trade and the urgent need for new, innovative measures to combat this growing crisis.
“These smuggling operations are robbing the government of billions of rands in tax revenue each year, thereby depriving our people of vital services.”
He said at the moment, an estimated two in every three cigarettes sold in South Africa are illicit, with the total loss in tax revenue exceeding R27 billion annually.
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