Tobacco producers are taken government to court over the ban on the sale of cigarettes, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The tobacco giant British American Tobacco or BAT, has given the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs an ultimatum to lift the ban or they will go to court.
The deadline for this ended yesterday. The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association has filed a court application and stated that government has not proven that smoking spreads the Corona Virus thus making their decision unreasonable. Meanwhile, the South African Revenue Service or SARS, lost R1,5 billion in revenue in April due to the ban on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol.
Joining us now is Bernard Sacks, a tax economist from Mazar, to talk about the implications the ban has on the economy
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