Minister of Finance Enoch Gondongwana delivered his much-anticipated budget speech on Wednesday afternoon at Cape Town City Hall and he announced that taxes for alcohol and cigarettes will go up. Consumers can expect a hike on their habits from the 1st of April. Godongwana said the government has proposed to increase excise (Tax imposed mostly on high-volume daily consumable products), duties on alcohol in line with expected inflation of 4.9 % for 2023/24.
EXCISE TAX
Excise duties have increased more than inflation in the recent years, this means that the duty on:
? A 340-millilitre can of beer increases by 10 cents,
? A 750-millilitre bottle of wine goes up by 18 cents,
? A 750-millilitre bottle of spirits will increase by R3.90,
? A 23 gram of cigar by R5.47,
? And on a pack of 20 cigarettes, the duty tax rises 98 cents.
ILLICIT CIGARRETES
On illicit trade, over the past three years, SARS has taken several steps to enhance its effectiveness in combating illicit trade, particularly in tobacco. To this end, SARS has completed 2 316 seizures of cigarettes & tobacco products to the value of R598.8 million. An additional R18 billion worth of schedules and assessments have been raised, targeting syndicated tobacco-related crimes. Furthermore, SARS has collected more than R1.2 billion in revenue and handed over 92 cases for criminal proceedings with the NPA of which 2 resulted in successful. Convictions relating to tobacco smuggling syndicates. Moreover, SARS has collected, more than 1.2 billion in revenue and handed over 92 cases for criminal proceedings with the NPA of which two resulted in successful convictions relating to tobacco smuggling syndicates.
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