Transporters now face fines for expired permits

Rising costs for
operators are stunting
intra-regional trade
growth and hindering
cross-border movement of
freight.
According to Gavin Kelly,
spokesman for the Road Freight
Association (RFA), while a
lengthy and drawn-out court
process has resulted in the
Cross Border Road Transport
Agency (CBRTA) being ordered
to repay operators for overpaid
permits, yet another issue has
reared its head.
Kelly said there seemed to be
a concerted effort to increase
costs for cross-border operators.
“It is obvious that the CBRTA
wishes to increase revenue but
is still not seen to be adding
any value to the cross-border
business,” he told FTW.
The CBRTA was in 2014
instructed to repay operators
after it increased cross-border
permit tariffs.
In a lengthy legal process
the court found against the
organisation and said it had to
repay operators the difference
between the original permit
tariff and the increased tariff.
The amounts totalled thousands
of rands.
Whilst the CBRTA did not
just accept the judgement and
headed off to the constitutional
court in its attempts to appeal,
the operators were finally
granted victory, forcing the
CBRTA to reimburse them for
the overpaid permits.
“We are not sure how many
non RFA-affiliated operators
have taken advantage of the
court order.”
But, he said, the agency had
already come up with a new way to
generate revenue.
“It is now imposing fines for
expired permits that were not
returned. This is not something it
has ever done before.”
He said the RFA was investigating
the matter and was hoping to take
it up with authorities in the coming
weeks.
“Tolls, taxes, permits and delays
through border posts remain
the big problem – all of which
contribute to increased cost.”
He said on some routes
hijacking was also an issue
while cargo theft at border
stops was increasing. This often
occurred while trucks were
parked waiting for scans,
searches and clearances.