You could be fined or arrested if found transporting or selling booze after hours

A stern warning has been issued to citizens and liquor outlets not to sell or transport alcohol after hours, ahead of the weekend.

From 9am to 5pm between Mondays and Thursdays, South Africans can buy and transport alcohol for home consumption. However, anything outside the stipulated hours will result in breaking the law.

SA police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo told Cape Talk on Wednesday that people who are caught with alcoholic products after hours will be held liable for violating the National Disaster Act.

“Between Monday at 9am and Thursday 5pm is the only time people are allowed to purchase and transport alcohol for their personal use,” said Naidoo. “Any other time beyond that will be a contravention of the regulations. People must be warned.”

Naidoo reiterated that buying alcohol during the legal time and only conveying it during the illegal times will not be accepted as an excuse.

What is after hours and what are the penalties?

Thursday after 5pm and Monday before 9am are after hours. Selling or transporting alcohol on Friday, Saturday or Sunday is breaking the law.

There is also a ban on the sale and transportation of alcohol during any public holiday which occurs during Level 3.

Speaking to TimesLIVE, Johannesburg metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said an exception to the transporting of alcohol from one place to another would be made for licensed traders only.

“Permits are for dealers and not for individuals who make private purchases,” said Minnaar.

According to the government's latest fine schedules for contravention of Level 3 lockdown regulations, any person who fails to comply with or contravenes a provision of regulations “commits an offence and is, on conviction, liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.”

The government is still studying the high court’s judgment that declared regulations under levels 3 and 4 of the national lockdown “invalid and unconstitutional”.