Hijackers and cross-border smugglers are scoring from the trade in illegal alcohol in SA, and the fiscus, which uses taxes from legal operators to fund service delivery to citizens, is losing out.
Appealing to consumers not to support the illicit trade, the liquor industry - which took a hard knock when booze was banned during the Covid lockdown - has outlined how illicit stock is entering the country, and how to spot it.
“The increasing illicit trade in alcohol represents a serious threat to the SA economy due to the loss of taxation, including VAT and excise, as well as jobs contributed by legal alcohol producers and merchants to the fiscus,” says the SA Liquor Brand Owners’ Association.
Buying illicit booze helps criminals, hurts jobs
Explained: How to spot illegal alcohol
Image: 123RF/ stockfotocz
Hijackers and cross-border smugglers are scoring from the trade in illegal alcohol in SA, and the fiscus, which uses taxes from legal operators to fund service delivery to citizens, is losing out.
Appealing to consumers not to support the illicit trade, the liquor industry - which took a hard knock when booze was banned during the Covid lockdown - has outlined how illicit stock is entering the country, and how to spot it.
“The increasing illicit trade in alcohol represents a serious threat to the SA economy due to the loss of taxation, including VAT and excise, as well as jobs contributed by legal alcohol producers and merchants to the fiscus,” says the SA Liquor Brand Owners’ Association.
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Kurt Moore, its CEO, said illegal products were entering SA in five ways:
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“Inadequate prosecutions of offenders, porous borders and corruption are just some of the problems that led to illicit alcohol flooding the market and continue to agitate the situation,” Moore says.
How to spot illicit alcohol:
“Organised crime targets every level within the value chain. If the demand is reduced through effective governance and responsible consumerism, the impact can be dramatically reduced, and job losses can be avoided,” says Moore.
TimesLIVE
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