Thursday 23 October 2025 – Tax Justice South Africa (TJSA) has welcomed the strong commitments made by both the taxman (SARS) and the police service (SAPS) to intensify the fight against the country’s massive illicit cigarette trade.
In presentations to Parliament’s Health Portfolio Committee, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter outlined a sweeping enforcement plan to rebuild capacity and impose tougher penalties on offenders, while SAPS stressed a need for minimum sentencing provisions to deter the criminal syndicates behind the trade.
TJSA founder Yusuf Abramjee said: “At last, law enforcement and revenue authorities are speaking with one voice against the criminal cigarette cartels that have been looting South Africa for years. Now we need those strong words turned into actions that match.
“Commissioner Kieswetter’s commitment to strengthen enforcement and impose maximum penalties, supported by SAPS’ call for minimum jail terms, sends exactly the right message: that there will be no more impunity for those stealing from our nation.”
The SARS presentation confirmed that three out of four cigarettes sold in South Africa are illicit, costing the fiscus tens of billions of rand in lost taxes every year. The rapid scaling up of the black market for tobacco has attracted the involvement of international crime cartels and also emboldened these syndicates and mafias to invest in other illicit sectors, it said.
The agency pledged to expand its excise enforcement teams, tighten licensing controls and fast-track prosecutions.
SAPS, in turn, highlighted the need for harsher criminal sanctions and dedicated policing capacity to deal with the highly organised networks driving the illicit trade.
“We strongly support SAPS in stressing the need for minimum sentences for convicted offenders,” Abramjee added. “The masterminds behind this criminal economy are not petty traders, they are multi-million-rand syndicates destroying jobs, funding corruption and depriving South Africans of basic services.”
Abramjee urged Parliament to ensure that the new Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill aligns with these enforcement priorities.
“Tougher laws only work if they’re backed by strong enforcement and real consequences,” he said. “The focus must be on shutting down the illicit supply chain and jailing those who profit from it.
“If we’re serious about tobacco control, we must restore the rule of law. SARS and SAPS have shown the will to act. Now government must give them the tools to finish the job.”
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