South Africa is bleeding billions every year, not through corruption or load shedding, but through the illicit cigarette trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past decade, a once-strong regulatory regime has unravelled, with the illicit tobacco trade now dominating the market. The national fiscus has lost over R119 billion in tax revenue to illegal cigarette sales between 2002 and 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This article sets out a Roadmap to 2030, detailing how South Africa can slash the illicit cigarette trade, restore public revenue, and protect legal businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more in The Policy Fix: What South Africa Must Do to Curb Illicit Cigarettes<\/strong><\/a> for actionable strategies to strengthen enforcement and close loopholes in the cigarette trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rise of South Africa\u2019s illicit cigarette market is no accident. It is the result of deliberate under-declaration, weak enforcement, and opportunistic actors in the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Professor Corn\u00e9 van Walbeek<\/strong> and Samantha Filby<\/strong> of UCT\u2019s Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products <\/a>(REEP):<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe rise in illicit trade in South Africa is not the inevitable result of excessive taxation, but rather of inadequate enforcement and the complicity of some manufacturers who exploit regulatory weaknesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nWhy the Illicit Cigarette Trade is Exploding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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