Tax Justice South Africa has called for tougher laws and mandatory jail terms for illicit cigarette traffickers after a foreign national was sentenced to 13 years in prison in Limpopo.
Tax Justice South Africa (TJSA) has called for tougher penalties against illicit cigarette traders, saying a recent 13-year prison sentence handed to a Limpopo trafficker should become the benchmark for a nationwide crackdown on tax crime.
The organisation on Monday warned that South Africa is losing an estimated R100 billion annually to illicit trade, placing severe pressure on the economy and public finances.
TJSA leader Yusuf Abramjee said the country could no longer afford weak penalties for offenders involved in the illicit tobacco market.
Abramjee called for mandatory prison sentences of at least five years for major tax offenders involved in the illicit cigarette trade, lifetime bans preventing convicted criminals from operating businesses, and stronger powers for law enforcement agencies to seize luxury vehicles, homes and other proceeds linked to criminal activity.
