MegaBanner-Right

MegaBanner-Left

LeaderBoad-Right

LeaderBoard-Left

Home » Industry News » Breweries & Distilleries News » Updated alcohol taxes and rules proposed for South Africa

Updated alcohol taxes and rules proposed for South Africa

South African Breweries is calling on the government to reduce the excise tax rate in its national budget on Wednesday (23 February) or face further disinvestment and job losses.

In a media briefing on Monday, the group warned that South Africa was not currently an investment-enabling environment and that it could look at importing certain products which could be harmful to the local economy.

It said that smaller players in the alcohol industry will also benefit from a reduced excise tax after months of lockdown restrictions decimated businesses – with more than 30% of local craft breweries forced to close and over 150,000 jobs lost.

“Blanket tax rates that lack nuance – that do not, for instance, take into consideration the size of the business and the weight of the tax liability it must bear – require a serious review,” the group said.

“For the sake of our industry, and the thousands of small businesses that call it home, we welcome any call from the government to reassess how excise policies can help create a business-enabling environment.”

This echoes similar calls by the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA), which said that South Africa should introduce an excise tax sliding scale based on beverage type and alcohol strength similar to other countries.

“It is clear that another excise increase above inflation could serve as the final nail in the coffin for these and other businesses across the beer value chain who are still trying to make up the revenue lost during the bans while being faced with other increased input costs including fuel and electricity hikes,” the association said.

More restrictions 

At the other end of the spectrum, the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) has called on the government to increase the excise tax on alcohol which it says will curb consumption.

The lobby group said that this should be combined with other measures including:

  • Reducing the availability of alcohol by limiting the number of outlets;
  • Reducing operating hours;
  • Raising the legal drinking age;
  • Increasing the price of alcohol through means additional to excise tax such as introducing minimum unit pricing (MUP) and limiting container sizes;
  • Limiting or banning alcohol advertising and sponsorships.

“The alcohol industry isn’t a philanthropic organisation. It exists to make a profit and generate dividends for its shareholders,” it said.

“It’s a business and that’s what businesses do. This means it cannot be expected to do anything that will threaten its profit levels and disappoint its shareholders. This is why self-regulation doesn’t work. This is why government intervention is needed.”

To enquire about Cape Business News' digital marketing options please contact sales@cbn.co.za

Related articles

Carbon tax changes to reshape commercial and industrial property sector

By Matthew Cruise, Business Development Executive at IMPOWER As South Africa prepares to enter Phase 2 of its carbon tax regime in 2026, the commercial...

Cabinet affirms its support for the 2025 National Budget

Cabinet has affirmed its support for the 2025 National Budget tabled by the Minister of Finance on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, which details key...

MUST READ

City working to resume Bayside Canal upgrade in Milnerton

The City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Directorate remains committed to completing the multi-million rand Bayside Canal upgrade in Milnerton. Work on site...

RECOMMENDED

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.