Verna Naidoo, owner of Eastleigh business Thandanani Transport, has sought legal action and is set to take South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to court.
He will be represented by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) in a civil case against the agency next year.
In 2016 Naidoo received a summons to pay over R400 000 in e-toll tariffs to the agency.
In light of Naidoo’s decision, Sanral commented on the matter in addition to explaining e-tolls.
Also read: Eastleigh businessman takes Sanral to court
Sanral’s general manager of communications, Vusi Mona, said a summons was issued to Naidoo when he failed to pay his e-toll tariffs and did not respond positively to the debt collection process.
“Sanral had no choice but to summons Naidoo for the money he owed,” said Mona.
He said when an individual is summoned, they either respond by defending the matter in court, paying the fee or ignoring the summons.
“At the end of August, it was recorded that about 1 300 of the over 15 000 summonsed individuals intend to defend the claim in court,” said Mona.
“A large number of those summonsed seem to have the ‘wait and see’ approach, awaiting the first court case.”
Mona said Sanral makes use of several methods to alleviate some of the financial strain motorists associate with e-tolls.
Methods include the use of varying tariffs for varying vehicle types, special discounted off-peak periods and a monthly cap for all registered road users.
“The tariffs and discount structures are aimed for road users to plan their trips and optimally manage the toll costs,” explained Mona.
“There is a higher tariff for those who do not pay within the grace period.”
According to Mona, approximately 80 per cent of road users pay less than R120 for e-tolls per month.
“Public transport, buses and taxis, which are predominantly, if not exclusively, used by lower-income households, are exempt from paying e-tolls.”
He said after several economic studies and intergovernmental panels e-tolls were found to be the fairest, affordable and equitable payment method for upgrades of the road network between Pretoria and Johannesburg.
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The upgrades were started to accommodate a growth in traffic on the roads.
Mona said Sanral and government went through two processes and introduced a monthly capping system for compliant users when they took the concerns of motorists into account.
“By registering and paying the toll within the grace period, road users are able to manage their toll costs. Companies are able to claim the VAT and the toll as a business expense,” said Mona.
“Any debt not paid over an extensive period of time would accrue to a large amount, if paid monthly, this would not be the case.”
The funds collected through e-tolls are used for servicing the debt, upgrading, operation and general maintenance of toll roads.
Mona said although there is some controversy surrounding e-tolls a public participation process was held.
“In 2014 the Pretoria High Court ruled that the publications in Government Gazette and newspapers were adequate to inform interested persons of the proposed toll declaration.”
