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Fuels Industry Association of South Africa welcomes SARS Crackdown on illicit fuel trade

Jun 18, 2025 Fuels Industry Association of South Africa, Avhapfani Tshifularo, SARS Crackdown, illicit fuel trade


Fuels Industry Association of South Africa welcomes SARS Crackdown on illicit fuel trade

 

The Fuels Industry Association of South Africa (the Association) welcomes the decisive enforcement actions by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and its law enforcement partners, targeting the illicit trade and adulteration of fuel products across the country. The Association applauds SARS and the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) for their recent operations, which have disrupted large-scale criminal activity and led to the seizure of nearly 2 million litres of adulterated diesel, the closure of non-compliant depots, and the opening of multiple criminal cases across Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal.

 

“These actions reinforce the urgent need to eliminate criminal syndicates that exploit regulatory loopholes, engage in fuel smuggling, and adulterate diesel primarily through the illegal mixing of diesel with untaxed paraffin. The illicit activities not only deprive the fiscus of an estimated R3.6 billion annually but also undermine fair competition, damage engines, pollute the environment, and erodes public trust in the fuel industry,” says Avhapfani Tshifularo, Chief Executive, Fuels Industry Association of South Africa.

 

The Association has consistently and proactively advocated for a zero-tolerance approach to illicit fuel trade and have proposed a comprehensive strategy to eradicate adulteration from the fuel supply chain. “A key pillar of our long-standing position is the elimination of the incentive to adulterate diesel with paraffin. To this end, the Association has strongly advocated for the alignment of paraffin taxation with diesel taxation levels,” Tshifularo adds.

 

Currently, paraffin is taxed significantly lower compared to diesel, creating a financial incentive for unscrupulous operators to blend the two fuels and sell the mixture as compliant diesel. This practice is not only illegal, but also economically destabilising and environmentally hazardous. By taxing paraffin at the same rate as diesel, we would remove the profit motive that perpetuates adulteration, and level the playing field for law-abiding fuel producers, importers, and distributors.

 

This single policy change would strike at the heart of the adulteration economy and support broader enforcement efforts. “Our long-term plans are based on the need for sustained action,” Tshifularo notes. “While we support and commend SARS’s recent enforcement blitz, we caution that these must not remain isolated or ad hoc interventions. The nature of the illicit fuel economy is sophisticated and entrenched.

 

Criminal networks are agile, well-financed, and operate with transnational reach, especially along high-risk corridors such as the Maputo Corridor. This means, to effectively combat this threat, South Africa must adopt a sustained, systems-based enforcement model,” he concludes.
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