29 July 2026 — The South African Revenue Service (SARS), working with the South African Police Service (SAPS) DPCI Serious Commercial Crime Investigations, has dealt a major blow to the illicit alcohol trade. SARS descended on a warehouse in Kempton Park, Gauteng, as part of its intensified crackdown on the illicit economy.
In a targeted enforcement operation on Wednesday, 29 July, SARS, along with SAPS, raided premises identified as a storage facility for imported ethanol (96% alcohol). The raid occurred as a consignment of the imported product was being delivered into the warehouse after having been declared to be destined for a country further north into Africa.
The consignment was imported by sea and declared to be in-transit and should have been removed directly through one of the Ports of Exit out of South Africa. The consignment, identified as one of four, is 26 000 litres of ethanol with an alcohol content of approximately 96%. It is the base product used to produce liquor products and generally attracts a duty-rate of R302.84/litre on the legitimate market. The duties and taxes due to SARS would have been around R9.1 million just for one consignment.
The joint team discovered the consignment being off-loaded at an unlicensed and unregistered facility into 1 000-litre flow-bins. The facility also had several other flow-bins on site and storage tanks, the contents of which must be tested, but which is suspected to contain a further 28 000 litres of ethanol.
This successful enforcement action is part of the broad SARS’s strategy to deal with the illicit economy that is having a devastating effect on the industry. The coordinated actions demonstrate SARS’s commitment to its strategic objective of making non-compliance hard and costly. SARS will continue to target the criminal syndicates involved in the illicit alcohol and liquor sectors. These syndicates exploit tax differentials by illegally diverting products and manufacturing illicit liquor.
Such schemes rob the fiscus of billions in revenue each year; illicit alcohol alone costs billions of rands in lost taxes annually. Beyond the revenue loss, the illicit alcohol trade undermines fair competition, as legitimate businesses cannot match the artificially low prices of untaxed liquor products. Illicit alcohol poses risks to consumers through substandard liquor quality.
SARS Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu expressed his satisfaction with the operation’s success. He noted that this enforcement action is part of the government’s broader efforts to combat illicit economic activities and enhance compliance in critical sectors. “This initiative also aligns with SARS’s strategic goal of making non-compliance hard and costly through intelligence-led interventions aimed at customs fraud, excise-duty evasion, smuggling, and illegal trade”.
The illicit alcohol trade is not a victimless crime; it deprives our country of essential revenue needed for public services, undermines compliant businesses, and enriches criminal networks operating outside the law.
The Commissioner added that the operation demonstrates the value of coordinated enforcement between SARS, SAPS, and other government partners. “We will continue to strengthen our intelligence, customs, and investigative capabilities to detect diversion schemes, disrupt illicit trade, and ensure that those who seek to evade their tax and customs obligations are held accountable”.
SARS is committed to working with law-enforcement and regulatory partners to detect, disrupt, and dismantle illicit trade networks. “Those involved in customs fraud, excise-duty evasion, and other forms of illicit economic activity are put on notice”, the Commissioner said. “We will not surrender the destiny of this country to criminals or tolerate brazen alcohol smuggling and tax evasion. I commend the collective enforcement and teamwork by SARS, SAPS, and our other partners for their dedication and swift action”.
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