Tax group ends e-toll test case with road agency

Civil society organisation the Opposition for Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) pulled out of legal engagements with the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) over a possible test case for unpaid e-tolls bills.

This move would speed up Outa’s bid to get the lawfulness of the tolling system before the courts and follows delays and hurdles in the organisation’s attempts to get information from Sanral for the case, Outa transport portfolio director Ben Theron said on Wednesday.

Since June 2016, Outa and Sanral lawyers have been in discussions about the feasibility of a test case for the nonpayment of e-tolls, something that may give legal clarity on both the lawfulness of the tolling system.

It could also set precedents over how Sanral could recoup billions of rands from motorists refusing to pay, and a judgment setting precedents in its favour could compel noncompliant motorists to begin paying their bills.

Theron said it would now be up to Sanral to determine which case it would pursue, but Outa and Sanral were now expected to raise the same issues that would have been included in the test case.

Both Outa and Sanral had a direct interest in such a case proceeding as swiftly as possible, said Theron.

Outa is representing some 152 of its members that have been issued summonses, out of some 6,283 summonses issued by Sanral. The roads agency won its first default judgment in March, but this was against a company in liquidation and had seen no defence by the individual concerned.

Outa described this, however, as a "peripheral e-toll skirmishes" saying any further default judgments "snuck in through the back door" would be hollow victories.

Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project manager Alex van Niekerk said on Wednesday the agency would respond after it had studied the judgment.

The agency told Parliament in 2016 there were 2.9-million accounts with outstanding balances, but some 1.2-million owed less than R500.

Sanral said in March 1.49-million vehicles on average used Gauteng highways each day and 1.3-million vehicles had an e-tag account in good standing.