The government will extend its R3 reduction on the general fuel levy for petrol by another month and effectively pause the levy on diesel to cushion consumers from steep fuel price increases.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwa proposed to halve the level of relief after June 2 and phase it out before July, the National Treasury and the department of mineral & petroleum resources said in a joint statement.
“The minister of finance proposes that the R3 per litre reduction in the general fuel levy for petrol be extended until Tuesday June 2 2026. Given the large expected increases in the price of diesel, the minister of finance proposes that the temporary relief for diesel be increased by 93 cents to R3.93 per litre, reducing the levy to zero,” the statement reads.
As a result, the general fuel levy for petrol will remain at R1.10/l for May, and that for diesel will decrease from 93c/l to zero.
“For the month of June 2026, the minister of finance proposes that the level of relief be halved to phase out the relief before July. As a result, the amount of relief from the general fuel levy will be reduced to R1.50 per litre for petrol and R1.96 per litre for diesel, effective from Wednesday June 3 2026 to Tuesday June 30 2026,” the statement reads.
“This will increase the general fuel levy for petrol from R1.10 per litre to R2.60 per litre and increase the general fuel levy for diesel from R0.00 per litre to R1.97 per litre.”
The government initially announced on March 31 that it would provide price relief until May 5, softening the blow of record-high fuel price hikes that the petroleum and mineral resources department announced later that day.
The R3 reduction limited the rise in the price of fuel to R3.06/l from April 1 — still the steepest monthly increase on record — and the wholesale cost of diesel to R7.51/l.
More price increases
Current estimates indicate that the prices of petrol, diesel and paraffin are on track for another hefty rise from May 6.
South Africa is a net importer of oil and petroleum products, making it vulnerable to the volatility since late February as a result of the US-Israel war against Iran, which has strangled oil supplies.
The general fuel levy is built into the retail price of fuel, and the proceeds are used to fund overall government spending, including healthcare, education, social grants, policing and public services as well as infrastructure.
In addition, motorists also pay towards the Road Accident Fund (RAF) as well as a carbon fuel levy intended to encourage the use of cleaner energy.
In his February budget Godongwana announced that fuel levies would rise in line with inflation, with the general fuel levy set to go up by 9c/l for petrol and 8c/l for diesel from April 1, while the carbon fuel levy would increase by 5c/l and 6c/l for petrol and diesel, respectively, and the RAF levy would be 7c/l higher.
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