High court rejects SARS appeal on CCTV regulations for tobacco warehouses

The High Court in Pretoria has denied the South African Revenue Service (SARS) the chance to appeal a decision that stops it from putting up CCTV cameras in tobacco warehouses.

In 2022, SARS created a regulation to monitor the tobacco industry for illegal activities. However, a ruling in May issued a temporary order against this regulation after a request from the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association and other manufacturers.

Picture: Pixabay

Now, SARS's attempt to take this case to the Supreme Court of Appeal has been rejected. The court stated that SARS did not adequately prove that the temporary order could be appealed, as such orders are usually not appealable unless it serves justice.

SARS argued that the temporary order was a mistake since the new regulation hadn't been declared invalid, but this argument was turned down.

The court concluded that SARS failed to show a good chance of winning the appeal or provide strong reasons for it to be heard.

Done by: Stephanie Van Rayen