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The deadline for vehicle owners to renew license discs that expired between March and May without penalty is Tuesday, September 22.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has urged motorists to comply and avoid penalties.
“Motorists who do not renew vehicle licenses by the end of the day tomorrow (September 22) will incur additional costs for late renewal.
If a vehicle’s license disk expired between March 26 and May 31 and is not renewed by Tuesday, owners could face:
A fine calculated at 10% of the annual license fees per month.
A traffic fine of up to R1,000 if stopped by traffic officers while driving an unlicensed motor vehicle on a public road.
Acting in accordance with the Disaster Management Law, the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, announced in July an extension of the period of validity for all those whose motor vehicle discs, permits and certificates of fitness to circulate expiring during the period which starts from March 26 to May 31.
The deadline for renewals was set for August 31 with an additional 21-day grace period with no late fees incurred.
The RMTC said the extension affected 2.46 million motorists whose vehicle discs expired during the full lockdown period. So far, 1.7 million (69%) “had taken advantage of the extension and renewed their licenses at the end of last week.”
“The RTMC is pleased with the public’s response to the extension and calls on those who have not yet renewed to take urgent action to comply and save money.”
DA not happy
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said Monday it had received volumes of complaints related to vehicle registration that could not be finalized before the deadline.
DA MP Chris Hunsinger said the long lines meant that many drivers were unable to renew their licenses on time “because the offices were not working optimally.”
“Staff were affected by Covid-19 with some offices that just opened. There were also issues with the eNatis system that had to be activated in a gradual approach after everything was shut down during the early stages of the crash.
He added that they questioned why the learning permits, driving licenses, temporary driving licenses and professional driving licenses that between March 26 and August 31 were extended until January 31, 2021, but not the license discs vehicular.
“Vehicle trade number licenses that expired during the period from March 26 to May 31 were extended until November 30, while vehicle license discs, temporary permits and certificates of fitness to circulate that expired between March 26 and May 31 expired on August 31 with no further validity extended other than the normal grace period of 21 days after expiration … What should have happened is that the validity periods for all categories should have been treated in the same way.
Hunsinger said the complaints they received ranged from people with personal use vehicles to “large fleet owners, businesses, construction, agriculture and rental companies reported that many offices offered limited daily transactions causing frustration, long lines and wasted time.” .
As a result, the party said it would ask the Minister of Transportation to extend the deadline for the renewal of record licenses until January 31 next year.
(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)
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