The hearing of the case brought by British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) against the government will now be heard in the Cape Town High Court on June 30.
On June 1, Batsa filed an urgent application against the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the National Covid 19 Command Council and the President.
Batsa and eight other parties are requesting a court order that the level 3 regulation prohibiting cigarette sales be declared unconstitutional and invalid and set aside.
A cost order is also demanded against the minister, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and any other respondents who oppose it.
The application was due to be heard on June 22, but due to a request by the parties that a full bench of judges should hear the case, a hearing date was only confirmed on Thursday.
According to a statement from Batsa, he and the state attorney agreed to bring the case on June 30.
According to the statement, the initial hearing date could not be accommodated due to court availability issues.
Batsa also confirmed that he had submitted his reply to the court on Wednesday.
Both applicants as well as the respondents agreed that the matter should be heard on an urgent basis.
- Meanwhile, a ruling in the case that the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) has also filed against the government is still expected. A full bench of judges heard the case about two weeks ago and reserved judgment.
