British American Tobacco pledges R30m to fight illegal trade

BRITISH American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) has announced that it will commit its full R30 million tax rebate to the #TakeBackTheTax initiative fighting illegal trade in cigarettes.

The #TakebackTheTax initiative is an activists-led campaign to implore the South African Revenue Service (Sars), Parliament, and law enforcement agencies to urgently take steps to fight the illicit tobacco trade. The campaign argues that the economy loses R8 billion to the trade every year.

Yesterday, Batsa said it expected to receive the rebate from Sars for overpaid taxes shortly after collecting and paying more than R9.1bn in taxes in South Africa last year. The tobacco company said the money would be committed directly to tackling the massive illegal trade in cigarettes allegedly run by billionaire crime bosses.

Johnny Moloto for Batsa said the money would be allocated to the successful #TakeBackTheTax initiative.

“#TakeBackTheTax has shone a light on the illegal activities of these criminal billionaires who are robbing South Africans and we are proud to continue supporting it,” Moloto said.

“We are also highly encouraged by the actions that have been taken by the new Sars leadership in cracking down on this illegal trade after years of deliberate neglect.”

The Nugent Commission heard directly that Sars was deliberately neutered to allow illegal cigarette manufacturers to break the law with impunity and leech billions of rand out of the pockets of South Africans.

“Batsa was not a beneficiary of this corruption by rogue Sars agents. It, like all other taxpayers in South Africa, was a target. We are the only local tobacco manufacturer in the country that declares all our production and pays all our taxes,” Moloto said.

Meanwhile, Batsa said reports that it owes R143 million to tax authorities were false: “We don’t owe any money for underpaying tax. We are, in fact, owed money for overpaying. That’s why we’re due this R30 million rebate,” Moloto said.