SARS plans smart markers to track alcohol and cigarettes
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) wants intelligent markers, similar to those on banknotes, on excisable goods to fight illicit trade. The Consumer Goods Council of SA estimates illicit trade costs the country R68 billion annually across 11 key sectors.
SARS Commissioner Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu spoke at an RMB event. He said the revenue service would seek partners to create the markers. They would apply first to alcohol and cigarettes, then to fizzy drinks, and eventually to all excisable products.
Keith Engel, CEO of the South African Institute of Taxation, explained the idea on The Money Show. He described the markers as electronic stamps. In his words: "It's like a tracker. So, when they leave the factory, you can watch where they go."
Engel said the markers would stop roundtripping, so SARS could collect tax even if products leave and re-enter the country. He said enforcement in informal-economy outlets will be the challenge. He added that shopkeepers who buy illicit products would carry a liability if they onsell them.
Key facts
- Who
- Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu (Commissioner, South African Revenue Service); Keith Engel (CEO, South African Institute of Taxation); Stephen Grootes (interviewer, The Money Show)
- What
- SARS Commissioner Ngobani Johnstone Makhubu told an RMB event that the revenue service wants to introduce intelligent markers, which it would seek partners to create, first for alcohol and cigarettes, then fizzy drinks and eventually all excisable products. Keith Engel of the South African Institute of Taxation explained how the markers would work as electronic stamps.
- When
- 27 October 2026
- Where
- South Africa
- Status
- Reported