Fita approached the court last week to appeal the High Court decision to dismiss its challenge against government’s cigarette ban.
The legal wrangling has been ongoing for months now, with Fita dealt another blow after the High Court in Pretoria dismissed its bid to appeal a previous ruling.
With SA the only country to have enforced a ban on the sale of tobacco products to mitigate effects of COVID-19, Fita said it had studied the latest judgment and was adamant that it stood on sound reasonable ground to have the ban overturned.
Some respondents reported prices as high as R300 per pack of 20 or R3,000 per carton of 200 cigarettes.
Advocate Marumo Moerane told the full bench of the court that the legal challenge was not in the public’s interest as asserted by the association in its legal bid.
Advocate Arnold Subel, representing Fita, argued that it was in the best interest of the public and of the law to have the conclusion of the Pretoria High Court tested elsewhere.
The Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) is asking the Pretoria High Court to grant it leave to appeal the dismissal of its case against government’s decision to prohibit the sale tobacco products during the lockdown.
Last month, Fita lost its application to the court, which argued that tobacco products should be considered essential goods.
Fita and other tobacco associations are against governments ban on the sale of tobacco sales as part of its fight against the spread of COVID-19.
The High Court in Pretoria dismissed the application with costs, saying the argument that tobacco products should be considered essential because they are addictive has no merits.
The judgment was released on Friday afternoon, with the full bench of the court saying Fita’s argument against the government that cigarettes ought to be considered “essential” - because they are addictive - had no merit.
Under level 3 lockdown, tobacco companies could export but local sales were still off-limits.
Lawyers representing Fita on Wednesday attacked the government through Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s reasoning for prohibiting the sale of tobacco products during the lockdown.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said she and her cabinet colleagues had chosen to protect lives.
In her answering affidavits on the matter, Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said that the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) had failed to make a case as to why it should be privy to the details of command council decisions.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said that government was confident in its decision, saying that it's been based on the concerns of many citizens.
CoGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma backtracked on the decision to allow the purchase of the products under level 4 lockdown regulations.
The group said that government had failed to respond to their demands and they have resolved to go the legal route.
