# summary - Link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/ - Published: 2026-10-09T10:20:21+02:00 - Author: dearSA _Advert_ _Advert – scroll down_ [ have your say](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/#havasay) South African households, commuters, freight operators, and agricultural producers are facing an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. While international landed product costs and currency depreciation threaten the single largest fuel price increase in South African history—projected at +R4.58 per litre on petrol and nearly +R3.00 per litre on diesel for November—the state is refusing to intervene, while quietly engineering a compounding double-tax extraction: | THE COMPOUNDING MOTORIST SQUEEZE | | THE NOVEMBER PRICE CRISIS | THE STATE’S TAX INTERVENTIONS | | * Petrol 95 up projected ~R4.58/l * Diesel wholesale up ~R2.91/l * 2026 relief expired 30 June * Food, freight, and fare inflation * Severe demand destruction (−5%) | * Treasury refuses GFL relief * RAF requests R3.00/l fuel levy * New annual car licence disc tax * Fixed retail petrol price controls * Unreformed legal fee leakages | [Refusing Proven Emergency Relief](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1738150189952-44103674-e29d31d9-c3be5520-2543bad6-d172) Between April and 30 June 2026, National Treasury proved that emergency fuel tax relief is legally and economically viable, cutting petrol levies by up to R3.00/ litre and reducing the diesel fuel levy to R0.00. However, on 1 July 2026, Treasury allowed those measures to expire, snapping fuel levies back to full strength (R4.10/ l on petrol and R3.93/l on diesel). Despite November facing a price shock far greater than the conditions that triggered the initial intervention, Treasury is refusing to reinstate relief. [The RAF Squeeze at the Pump](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1738150189975-5d0623dc-47dc31d9-c3be5520-2543bad6-d172) The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has submitted a formal bid to National Treasury via the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to hike the RAF fuel levy to R3.00 per litre—an increase of roughly 33% over current levels. [The Surcharge at the Licence Counter](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1738150854013-bb98f5fb-7d0931d9-c3be5520-2543bad6-d172) The Department of Transport is drafting regulations to introduce a brand-new mandatory tax on annual vehicle licence disc renewals, justifying the measure as a way to capture revenue from electric vehicles (EVs) and offset falling fuel volumes. In reality, it establishes a blanket penalty on every vehicle owner in the country. When escalating fuel prices forced motorists to cut fuel consumption by 5% in 2025/ 26, statutory tax collections fell to R48.1 billion. Instead of trimming state expenditure, curbing the billions lost annually to RAF attorney litigation fees, or providing counter-cyclical price relief, the state is attempting to plug its fiscal deficit by taxing captive road users twice. ### The Empirical Mandate: What South Africans Told Government This policy direction directly contradicts verified public sentiment logged on the official administrative record.In August 2026, 4,620 verified citizens participated through Dear South Africa on the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources’ draft Strategic Petroleum Stock Policy: - 91.95% (4,248 participants) outright rejected the draft policy. - Over 1,414 participants (30.61%) explicitly warned government against passing regulatory compliance costs down to motorists at the pump. - 75.11% (3,470 participants) flagged interconnected economic destruction across fuel rationing, pricing interventions, and pump price increases. The public delivered a clear warning: South African motorists and supply chains cannot absorb a single extra cent at the pump. Rather than listening, the state allowed emergency relief to lapse and initiated plans to tax vehicle owners at both the pump and the renewal counter. This campaign ensures that public pushback is formally escalated to Parliament and Cabinet under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA). ### _Questions and answers_ [What makes up the fuel price in South Africa?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1763554389233-fdb8fee6-6da45520-2543bad6-d172) The price consists of three core components: 1. a. _The Basic Fuel Price (BFP):_ The landed cost of importing refined product (crude/ refined international spot prices, ocean freight, insurance, and cargo dues) b. _Domestic Taxes & Levies:_ The General Fuel Levy (GFL), Road Accident Fund (RAF) Levy, Carbon Fuel Tax, and Customs & Excise Duty c. _Regulated Margins & Transport:_ Retail profit margins, wholesale margins, and the transport zone differential (pipeline, rail, and road delivery costs from coastal ports to inland areas). [Did government provide fuel levy relief earlier in 2026?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1763554389265-aa09206a-77665520-2543bad6-d172) **Yes**. Between April and 30 June 2026, National Treasury implemented phased emergency relief, reducing the General Fuel Levy by up to R3.00/l on petrol and lowering the diesel levy to R0.00/l in May. Treasury explicitly stated this was necessary to protect the economy from inflation. However, on 1 July 2026, the relief was terminated, snapping levies back to R4.10/l on petrol and R3.93/l on diesel. This campaign demands that Treasury reinstate that relief immediately. [Why is the Road Accident Fund (RAF) demanding R3.00 per litre?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1763554389298-fbc55a3c-817c5520-2543bad6-d172) The RAF levy is currently over R2.18 per litre. The Fund claims that because motorists reduced fuel consumption by 5% in 2025/26 (eroding levy collections to R48.1 billion), it needs the levy increased to R3.00 per litre to cover its liabilities. However, the Fund’s insolvency is driven by internal legal fee leakages and litigation backlogs rather than inadequate public funding. [What is the proposed licence disc renewal tax?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1771840733358-e4b2d08e-b226bad6-d172) The Department of Transport is drafting regulations to introduce a mandatory transitional fee tied to annual motor vehicle licence disc renewals. While the department argues this will capture revenue from electric vehicles that pay no fuel levy, the tax is being structured as a blanket surcharge on all vehicle owners, hitting petrol and diesel drivers twice. [Can service stations give me a discount on petrol?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1771840767171-e194ee95-bf82bad6-d172) **No**. Under the Petroleum Products Act, the retail price of petrol is legally fixed by the state down to the cent. It is illegal for a petrol station to discount petrol to attract customers. Only wholesale diesel prices are unregulated at the retail pump, which is why diesel prices vary between filling stations. This campaign calls for ending fixed retail petrol pricing and implementing a maximum price cap instead. [How does this campaign link to the August Strategic Stock consultation?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1791532506946-494819a4-c590) In August 2026, 4,620 citizens participated via Dear South Africa on the [draft Strategic Petroleum Stock Policy](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/emergency-fuel-laws/). Over 91.95% of participants rejected the draft, with 1,414 submissions warning government against passing storage and compliance costs down to motorists at the pump. This new campaign builds on that verified administrative record, showing that government ignored public warnings and is now attempting to extract revenue through new taxes. [Who is this campaign addressed to?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1791539232367-bed18558-a014) Your submission is addressed and delivered directly to the primary executive decision- makers and parliamentary oversight bodies responsible for fuel pricing, taxation, and transport policy: - The Minister of Finance (Mr. Enoch Godongwana, MP) & National Treasury: The executive authority responsible for statutory fuel tax schedules, the General Fuel Levy (GFL), and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) revenue approvals. - The Minister of Transport (Ms. Barbara Creecy, MP) & Department of Transport: The executive authority overseeing the Road Accident Fund (RAF), the National Road Traffic Act regulations, and the proposed annual vehicle licence disc surcharge. - The Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (Mr. Gwede Mantashe, MP) & DMPR: The department administering the Petroleum Products Act, the Basic Fuel Price (BFP) import parity formula, and regulated retail petrol margins. - The Parliament of South Africa: Specifically, the Standing Committee on Finance and the Portfolio Committee on Transport, which exercise constitutional oversight over statutory levies and draft transport legislation. [Why are we running this campaign now?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1791539283817-6d118de2-046f) This campaign addresses a dangerous policy contradiction unfolding in real time: 1. a. An Imminent Fuel Price Crisis: The Central Energy Fund (CEF) projects a record +R4.58/litre petrol hike and near R3.00/litre diesel surge for November. b. Refusal to Reinstate Proven Relief: Between April and 30 June 2026, National Treasury proved that temporary fuel tax relief works by slashing petrol levies by up to R3.00/l and waiving the diesel levy entirely. Treasury allowed those measures to expire on 30 June, restoring full taxes. Refusing to step in now—when projected price shocks exceed those of earlier this year—is economically destructive. c. An Unprecedented Double-Tax Squeeze: While motorists drown under pump prices, the RAF has submitted a formal bid to Treasury to hike the fuel levy to R3.00 per litre, while the Department of Transport is drafting a new mandatory annual tax on car licence disc renewals. d. Closing the Policy Window: These proposals are currently before Treasury and Cabinet for inclusion in national budget frameworks and regulatory gazettes. Public participation must be recorded on the official administrative record before these tax hikes are locked into law. [What happens to your comment, and what is Dear South Africa doing with the report?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1791539355214-a1de9348-0a0c) This is not a traditional online petition. Traditional petitions bundle thousands of digital signatures onto a single list, which government departments legally treat as a single, collective representation and routinely file away. When you participate via Dear South Africa: - _Individual Statutory Delivery:_ Your input is authenticated, formatted, and dispatched as an independent, standalone legal representation under Section 4 of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) and Section 33 of the Constitution. Decision-makers are legally bound to log, process, and evaluate every individual submission on the official administrative record. - _Audited Public Participation Report:_ At the close of the campaign, DearSA extracts and analyzes the full dataset, compiling a comprehensive, audited, and timestamped Public Participation Report. This document contains complete qualitative summaries, categorical concern breakdowns, and economic demographic matrices. - _Formal Presentation to Leadership:_ The final report is formally hand-delivered and tabled directly before the Ministers of Finance and Transport, their Directors- General, and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committees. - _A Court-Ready Administrative Paper Trail: _ If the executive ignores public evidence and enacts procedurally flawed, irrational double-tax regulations, this audited record provides the evidentiary foundation for civil society, industry bodies, and legal counsel to challenge the state’s decisions in the High Court under judicial review. [What is the objective and desired outcome of this campaign?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/#1791539466804-10e38ff8-9098) The objective is to establish an unassailable public mandate forcing government to abandon punitive vehicle taxes and implement immediate economic relief. The campaign demands four specific outcomes: 1. a. _Immediate Emergency Pump Relief: _ Compel the Minister of Finance and National Treasury to exercise executive authority and reinstate an emergency reduction of at least R1.50 to R2.00 per litre on the General Fuel Levy (GFL)—replicating the relief that ran earlier in 2026—to neutralize the catastrophic November price shock. b. _Withdrawal of the Licence Disc Surcharge: _ Force the Minister of Transport to halt and scrap draft regulations proposing a mandatory annual tax on car licence disc renewals, preventing unfair double-taxation of vehicle owners. c. _Rejection of the R3.00/Litre RAF Levy Hike: _ Compel National Treasury and the Standing Committee on Finance to reject the RAF’s MTEF bid to increase the fuel levy, mandating that the RAF Act be amended to cap legal contingency fees and eliminate administrative waste before any additional revenue is considered. d. _Retail Petrol Price Deregulation: _ Require the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources to amend the Petroleum Products Act regulations, replacing rigid state- fixed retail petrol prices with maximum price caps so forecourts and retailers can compete and offer price discounts directly to motorists at the pump. ### _In the News_ - BusinessTech — [Single biggest petrol price increase in South Africa on the cards for November](https://businesstech.co.za/news/energy/878781/single-biggest-petrol-price-increase-in-south-africa-on-the-cards-for-november/) - BusinessTech — [New mandatory tax for anyone renewing their car licence discs in South Africa](https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/878805/new-mandatory-tax-for-anyone-renewing-their-car-licence-discs-in-south-africa/) - Top Auto — [New tax in the works for all car owners in South Africa](https://topauto.co.za/news/157726/new-tax-in-the-works-for-all-car-owners-in-south-africa/) - IOL — [Transport minister proposes new funding model for Road Accident Fund](https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2026-05-13-transport-minister-proposes-new-funding-model-for-road-accident-fund/) - IOL — [RAF funding overhaul could hit motorists at the pump and when renewing licences](https://iol.co.za/business/2026-10-08-raf-funding-rethink-could-hit-motorists-at-the-fuel-pump-and-licence-renewal/) - IOL — [Why isn’t South Africa reintroducing fuel tax relief measures? Economists say it’s not that simple](https://iol.co.za/business/economy/2026-10-07-why-isnt-south-africa-reintroducing-fuel-tax-relief-measures-economists-say-its-not-that-simple/) - IOL — [Foreign nationals lodge R23.3 billion in Road Accident Fund claims](https://iol.co.za/business/2026-09-07-foreign-nationals-lodge-r233-billion-in-road-accident-fund-claims/) - Parliament of SA — [Media Statement: Liquidity Challenges Facing the Road Accident Fund Concern the Portfolio Committee on Transport](https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/media-statement-liquidity-challenges-facing-road-accident-fund-concern-portfolio-committee-transport) ### _Statements and media releases_ Click on a logo to view. Want to display your organisation’s statement? [Click here. ](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/reduce-the-fuel-price/summary/ fuelprice@dearsouthafrica.co.za?subject=org info for Fuel price info page) Close ### Cape Independence Party **CAPEXIT Party strongly opposes the Business Licensing Bill in its entirety on all points:** **Preferential licensing** The Bill explicitly empowers the Minister to grant licences on a “preferential” basis and to impose conditions that advance “historically disadvantaged individuals” or other designated groups. This is nothing less than state-sanctioned racial and ideological discrimination dressed up as transformation policy. CAPEXIT rejects the notion that the state has any legitimate role in deciding which racial or social group may or may not operate a business. Such preferential licensing will: - Reintroduce apartheid-era economic controls under a new ideological banner; - Create a cronyist system where access to markets is determined by political connections and demographic criteria rather than merit, innovation or consumer demand; - Discourage both domestic and foreign investment, as investors will rightly fear that their businesses can be denied licences or subjected to arbitrary conditions on racial or political grounds. No free society licenses businesses on the basis of the owner’s skin colour or historical narrative. This clause alone renders the entire Bill unconstitutional and morally indefensible. **Principles of business licensing** The Bill fails to articulate any coherent, objective, or proportionate principle for requiring a general business licence in the first place. Instead, it presumes that every enterprise – from a street vendor to a multinational corporation – must seek prior permission from the state simply to exist and trade. This reverses the fundamental principle of a free economy: citizens should be free to engage in lawful economic activity without state permission unless there is a clear, evidence-based justification (e.g. public health, safety or environmental protection). The Bill provides no such justification. It is a blanket assault on economic freedom, reminiscent of the licence-permit raj that crippled India’s economy for decades. Requiring a general “business licence” in addition to existing sector-specific permits( liquor, health, zoning, etc.) serves no legitimate public purpose – only the purpose of expanding state control and creating new opportunities for rent-seeking and corruption. **Powers of inspectors** The Bill grants inspectors extraordinarily broad and invasive powers, including warrantless entry into private premises, seizure of documents and goods, and the ability to close businesses on the spot. These powers are ripe for abuse and will be weaponised against political opponents, non-compliant businesses, and any entrepreneur who refuses to pay bribes. In a country already plagued by corruption scandals, handing unelected officials the power to enter and shut down businesses without judicial oversight is an open invitation to extortion. Small businesses, spaza shops, and informal traders – many of them immigrant-owned – will be particularly vulnerable to harassment and shakedowns. Far from promoting transformation, this will simply create a new class of “licence inspectors” who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor. **More red tape** South Africa already ranks poorly on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index, largely because of regulatory overreach. This Bill adds yet another layer of costly, time-consuming bureaucracy on top of SARS registration, municipal permits, B-BBEE compliance, UIF, COIDA, sector SETA requirements, and dozens of other licences. The compliance costs – application fees, mandatory consultations, endless paperwork, and the risk of arbitrary refusal – will crush startups and force thousands of small businesses to close or remain informal. Jobs will be lost, investment will flee, and the tax base will shrink. The Western Cape, which has consistently outperformed the rest of South Africa precisely because of lighter and more efficient regulation, will see its competitive advantage deliberately sabotaged by Pretoria. **Conclusion** The Business Licensing Bill is not reform – it is economic sabotage. It centralises power in the hands of an already overreaching and underperforming national government, reintroduces racial criteria into commerce, and erects new barriers to entrepreneurship at a time when South Africa desperately needs growth and jobs. CAPEXIT calls for the complete withdrawal of this Bill. The people of the Western Cape, and indeed all South Africans who believe in freedom, will not accept a return to a permit-based economy controlled by bureaucrats and political gatekeepers. For a free, prosperous, and non-racial future, this Bill must be rejected in its entirety.