Allegedly illicit cigarette brand takes pole position in SA
Study finds Gold Leaf Tobacco’s RG brand smokes its rivals, selling for less than the tax of R17.85 per pack
SA’s biggest cigarette brand is now allegedly illegal, according to a study that found the illicit market has grown in recent months. The study, by research firm Ipsos, also found that cigarettes selling for less than the tax of R17.85 per pack — the threshold for the legal market — now account for 42% of sales in the informal market, from 33% earlier in 2018. That means the South African Revenue Service (Sars) would lose about R8bn in taxes over the next 12 months. “In a remarkable show of defiance, manufacturers of cigarettes selling below the minimum tax have expanded their distribution at the very same time as Sars has been promising to crack down,” the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa said on Tuesday. The institute said Gold Leaf Tobacco’s RG brand was now the top-selling brand in SA overall, having overtaken all legal brands. The brand sold for an average price of just R10, indicating it was evading the R17.85 owed to the government on each pack. Gold Leaf Tobacco, which i...
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