British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) has called for an inquiry over a report commissioned from Ipsos, which found the sale of illicit cigarettes and tax evasion was at an “industrial scale”, reports IOL.

The Ipsos study saw mystery shoppers visit different retail outlets and find that three out of every four retail outlets were selling a pack of cigarettes for less than the collectable tax rate of ZAR 20.01 (USD 1.31). The survey found that a total of 41 per cent of all retail outlets nationwide sold cigarette packs for below the taxable amount.
Big tobacco players have now reacted with BATSA calling for an urgent inquiry into the matter. According to IOL, BATSA’s general manager, Johnny Moloto, said it was clear some tobacco manufacturers were complicit in the sale of their products.
“There is no other plausible explanation. This is tax evasion on an industrial scale. The government has a responsibility to act with urgency to stop such looting,” said Moloto.
He went on to say that the report had proven that taxpayers in South Africa were losing out on billions in revenue because of the criminal activity.