TELITA SNYCKERS: BAT’s schizophrenic U-turn: a ploy to get the foxes to guard the henhouse?
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After 141 days of SA’s tobacco ban, which saw levels of illicit trade in tobacco skyrocket, British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) is now urging the urging government to step in and eradicate the illegal sale of cigarettes.
The company, headquartered in London, also called for government to urgently ratify the World Health Organisation (WHO) Illicit Trade Protocol, which would include implementing a track and trace system, so packs can be traced back to their origin.
Introducing traceability to cigarette packs has long been on the cards. As far back as 2007, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) signalled that it intended to introduce more appropriate measures to securely mark and track tobacco products.
It undertook to do so again in 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018. It tried to launch a secure marking program in 2019. But guess what: The tender was delayed. Three times. Until it was ultimately cancelled.
Why did this happen? In large part, because BAT — the same company now clamouring for the introduction of a track and trace system — was extremely vocal in its opposition to the plan, through the Tobacco Institute of SA (Tisa).
After the tender was published, no less than 18 articles appeared in the media, arguing that “the new system had been rushed”; it “would capture only the legal market”; and it would “drive illicit trade up further”. The articles accused SARS of “wasting billions of rands”.
The media onslaught was relentless — and the loudest voice was that of big tobacco.
Yet all of a sudden, BAT believes this is now a good thing.
Let’s be clear — SA absolutely should ratify the Illicit Trade Protocol, and it absolutely should introduce far stronger supply chain control measures for tobacco products.
The boom in illicit cigarettes never would have happened had we had appropriate controls and enforcement capacity in place to begin with. As a country, we have virtually no insight into production volumes, and have to take cigarette manufacturers at their word.
It’s easy to simply not declare a batch; set up a covert factory the taxman knows nothing about; or run entire unmapped contraband towns (as BAT has allegedly been doing in the Democratic Republic of Congo).
We do not, in any notable way, monitor the tobacco supply chain. We do not compare how many filters or cigarette papers a company buys against the number of cigarettes declared. ...
The company, headquartered in London, also called for government to urgently ratify the World Health Organisation (WHO) Illicit Trade Protocol, which would include implementing a track and trace system, so packs can be traced back to their origin.
Introducing traceability to cigarette packs has long been on the cards. As far back as 2007, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) signalled that it intended to introduce more appropriate measures to securely mark and track tobacco products.
It undertook to do so again in 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018. It tried to launch a secure marking program in 2019. But guess what: The tender was delayed. Three times. Until it was ultimately cancelled.
Why did this happen? In large part, because BAT — the same company now clamouring for the introduction of a track and trace system — was extremely vocal in its opposition to the plan, through the Tobacco Institute of SA (Tisa).
After the tender was published, no less than 18 articles appeared in the media, arguing that “the new system had been rushed”; it “would capture only the legal market”; and it would “drive illicit trade up further”. The articles accused SARS of “wasting billions of rands”.
The media onslaught was relentless — and the loudest voice was that of big tobacco.
Yet all of a sudden, BAT believes this is now a good thing.
Let’s be clear — SA absolutely should ratify the Illicit Trade Protocol, and it absolutely should introduce far stronger supply chain control measures for tobacco products.
The boom in illicit cigarettes never would have happened had we had appropriate controls and enforcement capacity in place to begin with. As a country, we have virtually no insight into production volumes, and have to take cigarette manufacturers at their word.
It’s easy to simply not declare a batch; set up a covert factory the taxman knows nothing about; or run entire unmapped contraband towns (as BAT has allegedly been doing in the Democratic Republic of Congo).
We do not, in any notable way, monitor the tobacco supply chain. We do not compare how many filters or cigarette papers a company buys against the number of cigarettes declared. ...
