South Africa’s Road Accident Fund levy is R2.25 a litre in the current October fuel-price structure. That is the total levy, not a new R2 increase: the increase introduced on 1 April 2026 was seven cents a litre.
This explainer was checked on 17 October 2026 against SARS notices and the official fuel-price schedule covering 7 October to 3 November. It separates the taxes included in fuel prices from the monthly adjustment motorists see at the pump.
What did the 2026 Budget change?
SARS’s 26 March tariff-amendment notice set out these Budget levy changes:
- The general fuel levy increased by nine cents to R4.10 a litre for petrol, and by eight cents to R3.93 for diesel.
- The carbon fuel levy rose by five cents to 19 cents a litre for petrol, and by six cents to 23 cents for diesel.
- The RAF levy increased from R2.18 to R2.25 a litre on both fuels.
At full rates, those Budget increases totalled 21 cents a litre for each fuel, before accounting for temporary relief. The general fuel levy was temporarily reduced from April, with its full R4.10 petrol and R3.93 diesel rates restored on 1 July, according to SARS’s tariff amendment record.
The current October schedule lists the combined general and carbon fuel levy as R4.29 for petrol and R4.16 for diesel, with the R2.25 RAF levy shown separately.
Why did petrol rise by more in October?
A monthly pump-price increase is not the same thing as a tax increase. The official October adjustment raised 93-octane petrol by R3.12 a litre and 95-octane petrol by R3.33 from 7 October.
The department attributed the adjustment to factors including higher international petroleum-product prices. The slate levy, which accounts for accumulated under- or over-recovery in the pricing system, also increased by 4.38 cents to 87.66 cents a litre. That is a separate component from the RAF levy. The quarterly adjustment to the difference between 93- and 95-octane basic fuel prices also applied.
Has another RAF levy increase been announced?
The October schedule retains the RAF levy at R2.25. In an eNCA interview earlier in October, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said she would not ask Treasury for an increase while she held the job, citing pressure on consumers. That statement does not remove the levy already in force.
What about the R10bn fuel-relief bill?
The R10bn fuel-relief bill previously covered by EBNewsDaily concerns funding for fuel-price relief. Parliament’s 8 October account described the allocation as fiscal capacity for a possible intervention. A funding bill is not itself an instruction to reduce the pump price; the October schedule records the increases that took effect on 7 October.
