Diesel Levy Drops to Zero. Diesel Refunds Recalibrated.
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Your transport, farming, and mining clients just got a temporary win at the pump. But the diesel refund maths has changed, and if you do not recalculate now, you will mis-quote what they can claim back.
What changed
On 5 May 2026, the Minister of Finance gazetted three notices under the Customs and Excise Act, 1964, all effective from 6 May 2026:
Notice R.7426 (Government Gazette 54608) cuts the general fuel levy on diesel from 93c/li to nil cents per litre. The carbon fuel levy on diesel stays at 23c/li. Petrol stays unchanged at 110c/li general fuel levy plus 19c/li carbon.
Notice R.7435 (Government Gazette 54623) is a correction notice. It adds the petrol line (item 195.10.03 at 129c/li) that was missing from the table in R.7426. No new policy, just a fix.
Notice R.7427 (Government Gazette 54609) updates the diesel refund scheme in Schedule 6. Because the general fuel levy on diesel is now zero, the refund for qualifying users is now nil fuel levy plus 225c/li Road Accident Fund levy, equalling 225c/li total.
What it actually means
Good news for ordinary diesel buyers
Pump price drops by roughly 93c/li from 6 May. Real money for transport operators, logistics businesses, and any client with a fleet.
For clients claiming diesel refunds (farming, forestry, mining, offshore vessels, harbour vessels, rail freight, large electricity generation plants)
The refund has been recalibrated. You can no longer claim back a portion of the general fuel levy on diesel, because there is no general fuel levy to refund. The refund is now limited to the 225c/li Road Accident Fund portion.
This is not a loss. They are not paying the fuel levy in the first place, so there is nothing to claim back. But the rebate figure on their books will look different. If your client's accounting system or refund template carries the old refund rate (372c/li for land-based, 603c/li for offshore, 410.5c/li for electricity generation), update it now.
For petrol
Nothing changes. The headline diesel relief does not extend to petrol.
The clock is ticking
The gazettes themselves do not name an end date, but Treasury has already signalled the relief phases out. Expect the diesel levy to be halved from 3 June 2026 and to return in full from July 2026. As covered in our piece on the extended fuel levy relief, the July reset is the date you flag to clients now, not in late June when prices move again.
What to do this week
Update refund calculations. If you advise any client claiming diesel refunds, recalculate their May claim using the 225c/li rate. Old templates will overstate the refund.
Tell transport-heavy clients. Fleet operators, distributors, and logistics businesses should be capturing the saving now and watching for the July reset.
Check fixed-price contracts. Any client with fuel-linked pricing or delivery rates set before April 2026 needs those numbers revisited before July.
Watch for the next gazette. The phase-out (halved levy in June, full levy from July) will need its own amendment to Schedule 1. Diarise the SARS legal updates page.
This is exactly the kind of regulatory shift that quietly affects client cash flow without anyone ringing the alarm. The accountants who track these changes are the ones whose clients trust them to charge for advisory work, not just compliance.