South Africa is set to raise fuel taxes this June, but a recently filed court application is attempting to suspend the move.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has submitted an urgent application to the Western Cape High Court, which seeks to suspend the planned increase to the General Fuel Levy (GFL).
In May 2025, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his third iteration of the National Budget Speech, which proposed an inflation-linked increase to the GFL in place of the now-scrapped VAT hike.
The GFL is set to go up by 16c per litre for petrol and 15c per litre for diesel once the new fuel price adjustments take place on Wednesday, 4 June 2025.
This will be the first time the GFL has been increased in three years, as the tax was previously left untouched as part of a pandemic-era consumer relief measure.
According to EWN, the EFF said the finance minister doesn’t have the power to increase taxes without Parliament’s permission.
Godongwana has tabled the fiscal framework policy, which covers the fuel levy proposal.
However, the EFF said the framework is currently before the finance standing committee for public hearings.
The political party argued that it will not be possible to complete the necessary procedures before the GLF hike kicks in on 4 June.
The proposal will raise the GFL on petrol from R3.96 to R4.12 per litre, while the tax on diesel will reach R3.97 per litre.
This means that approximately 20% of the retail price of both fuels can now be attributed to a single tax.
“This budget proposes an inflation-linked increase to the general fuel levy. For the 2025/26 fiscal year, this is the only new tax proposal I am announcing,” said Godongwana.
“It means from the 4th of June this year, the general fuel levy will increase by 16 cents per litre for petrol, and by 15 cents per litre for diesel.”
The GFL increase was not part of the minister’s earlier Budget Speech presentations when the VAT hike was still on the table.
An inevitable outcome
While the GFL proposal has understandably not gone over well with motorists, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) pointed out that it was an inevitable outcome.
Outa noted that the fuel levy hasn’t been subjected to an increase in three years, as it was frozen from 2021 to 2024.
The minister even decreased the levy by R1.50 temporarily for the first three months of the 2022/23 financial year, going from R3.85 to R2.35.
It was then subject to another temporary reduction of R0.75 in July 2022, lowering the GLF from R3.86 to R3.11.
Outa highlighted that petrol prices have dropped 12% since May 2024.
“Treasury’s increase in the general fuel levy by 16 cents per litre (less than 1% of the total fuel price) was expected,” it said in a statement.
“This hike, combined with the increases to excise duties on alcohol and tobacco by between 6.5% and 9%, reflects government’s increasing reliance on already overburdened taxpayers to close revenue gaps.”
The organization previously warned that any proposals to increase the GFL or the Road Accident Fund (RAF) levy (the country’s second-largest fuel tax) were unjustifiable.
Stefanie Fick, the executive director of Outa’s accountability division, stated that the levies are easy to collect but prone to misuse.
“The GFL, for example, has never been ring-fenced for transport-related purposes, raising concerns about its allocation,” she said.
“Instead of relying on continuous tax increases to cover inefficiencies, the government must prioritise fiscal responsibility and structural reforms to ensure a more sustainable and prosperous future for all South Africans.”
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