South Africa taxed e-vape products even before it passed laws recognizing and regulating them. The tax went into effect on June 1.
The tax applies to all e-liquids – whether bottled, pre-loaded or disposable devices – at 2.90 South African rand (about $0.15) per milliliter. A 60ml bottle of vape will be taxed at a rate of R174 – about $9 – which could double the consumer price of many vape products.
The wholesale tax is essentially the same as that proposed by the country’s finance minister in his 2022 budget speech. It applies to all e-cigarette products with or without nicotine.
According to Asanda Gcoyi, CEO of the e-Cigarette Products Association of South Africa (VPASA), the country’s domestic e-cigarette industry is expected to lose a quarter of its revenue and more than 2,000 jobs. She told News 24 that many will return to cigarettes and others will find cheaper e-cigarette products on the black market.
South African e-liquid manufacturers must apply to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for a manufacturing and storage facility license before the tax comes into effect and must submit the first payment to the agency by July 28. Importers and wholesalers will be responsible for taxing imported e-cigarette products.
Meanwhile, the Tobacco Products and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Control Bill, which has been in the works since 2018, will add e-cigarette products to South Africa’s existing tobacco control laws. Currently, there are no laws or regulations governing e-cigarette products in the country, not even a minimum purchase age law.
The bill, still being drafted in parliament, is expected to group cigarettes and e-cigarettes together and impose smoking restrictions on e-cigarettes. It could also introduce new restrictions, such as a ban on online sales.
With more than 60 million inhabitants, South Africa has the second largest economy in Africa (after Nigeria). According to the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 25.8% of South Africans over the age of 15 smoke – a high rate made possible by the widespread use of cheap black market cigarettes.