It almost slipped under our radar, but a government gazette proposal suggeststhat an increase in the transaction fee foreNatisvehicle licensing transactions is likely to be enforced in the near future. This means that whether you want to renew yourvehicle's licence, register a car or change its ownership details – or do anything pertaining to vehicle ownershipat your local traffic department, the transaction is going to cost you more...

Earlier in October 2017, the Transport Minister JoeMaswanganyi published the increased transaction fee in the Government Gazette 41170. It should be coming into effect on 1February 2018. Here's where it gets sticky. This transaction fee is the subject of the increase and not the actual vehicle licensing cost. According to the Justice Project South Africa (JPSA), a non-profit organisation focusing on "ensuring that road traffic legislation is fair and equitable and is primarily enacted to achieve enhancedroad safety objectives",this increase is absurd and needs justification.

Let's look at the numbers, sourced from JPSA.

"The increase of R30 per transaction equates to a whopping 71.43% increase in this transaction fee, raising it from R42 per transaction to R72 per transaction. In the previous year, the former Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters increased this transaction fee from R36 to R42 per transaction, an increase of 16.67%."

Inflation, as it stands, sits at just under 5% and this new transaction fee is way above that. You can imagine how much additional revenue will be coming in with this new increase and according to JPSA, "there were 12 153 062 vehicles registered on eNaTIS, all of which must be licensed annually."

We'll keep you posted if there are any further developments to this story. As it stands, you'll need an extra R30 to renew your licence for your vehicle.

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