29 October 2025 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) welcomes the judgment handed down on 29 October 2025 by the High Court of South Africa, North Gauteng (case no. 48495/2020). This decision came because of an application brought by SARS for the sequestration of Mr Roy Muleya.
Mr Muleya was found to be one of the main role players in a scheme which involved the importation of tobacco by entities who had no obvious links to registered cigarette manufacturers.
Mr Muleya was issued with a section 103 notice in terms of the Customs and Excise Act in respect to a company with a liability amounting to ±R155 million. He is the sole director of the company.
SARS instituted a sequestration application against Mr. Muleya in terms of section 177 of the Tax Administration Act during September 2021.
The application was heard on 24 May 2023, and the judgment was issued on 29 October 2025, granting the provisional sequestration of Mr. Muleya.
This success points to the intentional strategy adopted by SARS to emphatically deal with those who have opted to operate outside of the law. SARS seeks to always provide clarity and certainty to taxpayers so that they know what their legal obligations are. This is accompanied by providing digital platforms, which makes meeting their obligations easy. Where taxpayers opt to wilfully disregard their obligations by acting outside the remit of the law, SARS will make it hard and costly. All these efforts are undertaken to foster a culture of voluntary compliance. This is to ensure that all taxpayers meet their obligations in an equitable manner, without burdening compliant taxpayers with a disproportionate burden of paying taxes.
Commenting on the matter, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter stated:
“SARS will relentlessly pursue legally all those who are disregarding the law by seeking to bypass it. South Africa has seen proliferation of illicit tobacco and cigarettes, and the action of Mr Muleya only exacerbates this challenge. Bringing cigarettes illegally in the country threatens the health of smokers and undermine national fiscus by withholding excise duties. SARS will continue to act lawfully and decisively against those who deliberately seek to evade or neglect their tax responsibilities. The message we want to communicate is that no matter how long it takes, SARS will not abdicate its responsibility to enforce the law. We will do so responsibly and without prejudice, fear or favour. For all are equal before the law”.
Commissioner also appealed to smokers “Whilst it is your decision to smoke, I want to direct you to resist the temptation to support the production and sale of illicit tobacco products. In doing so, you are inadvertently complicit in a criminal syndicate” he concluded.
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