Considering the C-BRT act

February 7, 2025

Since mid-2023, the Road Freight Association (RFA) has seen an increase in enquiries relating to the activities of cross-border road transport inspectors at ports of entry. KEVIN VAN DER MERWE writes that these inspectors are becoming more active, and takes a closer look at cross-border permits, the appointment and powers of Cross-Border inspectors, and the offences they police in terms of the Cross-Border Road Transport Act, Act 4 of 1998.

The increased activity of cross-border road transport inspectors is mainly because the function was previously performed under agreement with traffic officers in the employ of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC). 2023 marked the return of the Cross-Border Road Transport Inspectorate to the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) as their own dedicated law enforcement capacity. These inspectors are appointed under the C-BRT Act and, although some may have been trained as traffic officers, their role is to enforce the C-BRT Act, not to act as traffic officers.

This article highlights a couple of extracts from sections and regulations to aid operators who transport freight across borders, to give a clearer understanding of the appointment and powers of the inspectorate, as well as the offences created under the Act. Relevant definitions have been included to clarify what is meant when certain terms are used in the Act.

The C-BRT Act imposes certain duties on permit holders under section 47 and these have also been included, as the duties tend to necessitate that inspectors will look at certain aspects that fall within the appointment and powers of a traffic officer, but are only dealt with cursorily under the Act.

Permit application – section 25(1)

No person may undertake cross-border road transport or, subject to section 31, cabotage, unless he or she is the holder of a permit (cabotage is where a foreign registered vehicle picks up freight or passengers in another country for delivery still inside that other country or a third country, without traversing the vehicle’s country of registration).

Powers of national road transport inspectors – section 38

(1) A road transport inspector may –

(a) cause a vehicle to stop in the manner prescribed;

(b) question the driver or a passenger of the vehicle which was stopped under sub-section (1) in the prescribed manner;

(c) direct the driver or a passenger of the vehicle which was stopped under sub-section (1) to produce any prescribed document in the prescribed manner;

(d) confiscate a permit which has been specified in a written order issued by the Regulatory Committee;

(e) confiscate a permit which authorises cross-border road transport or cabotage if the vehicle is so defective as to be a possible danger to persons or property and must hand over the permit to the Chief Executive Officer;

(f) request the driver or a person in charge of a vehicle to open the vehicle to enable him or her to examine the contents of the vehicle;

(g) if the driver or person in charge of the vehicle fails or refuses to comply with a request made in terms of paragraph (f), open the vehicle and examine the contents of the vehicle and may for that purpose break any seal or locking device;

(h) impound a vehicle which is reasonably suspected of being or having been used for unauthorised transport;

(i) impound goods which are reasonably suspected to have been conveyed contrary to the Act or an agreement;

(j) direct the driver of a vehicle referred to in paragraph (h) and (i) to deliver the vehicle and the goods to the nearest police station;

(k) enter any premises to investigate and reasonably suspected contravention of the Act or an agreement, as contemplated in section 2(1), and whilst on the premises, he or she may-

(i) question any person who is reasonably believed to possess information which might lead to the conclusion of investigations;

(ii) request delivery of and examine any document which is reasonably believed to relate to the commission of an offence;

(iii) seize or make copies of any document referred to in paragraph (ii); or

(iv) question any person in relation to a document referred to in paragraph (ii).

(2) A road transport inspector must-

(a) issue a notice, as prescribed, if any documentation has been confiscated under subsection (1);

(b) after opening a vehicle and examining the contents as provided for in subsection (1)(g) indicate in a prescribed certificate that the vehicle has been opened and that the contents have been examined in terms of subsection (1)(g); and

(3) The powers conferred under subsection (1)(k) do not authorise a road transport inspector to enter private dwelling premises unless the owner of the premises consents to the entry or unless a court order authorising such entry has been obtained.

(4) A person questioned or required to furnish information under subsection (1)(k) is entitled to the privileges to which a person testifying in a court of law would be entitled to.

(5) A vehicle which is impounded in terms of subsection (1)(h) and goods which have been impounded in terms of subsection (1)(i) must be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, and the provisions of the Constitution.

Functions of road transport inspectors – section 39

(1) The road transport inspectors must-

(a) enforce the provisions of this Act;

(b) enforce the provisions of any other legislation that confers certain rights and duties upon them; and

(2) The Road Transport Inspectorate must from time to time, as determined by the Regulatory Committee and in the prescribed format, submit to the Regulatory Committee a report which contains-

(a) law enforcement information on a route basis;

(b) general information on traffic flows and tendencies; or

Offences and penalties – section 40

(1) A person who-

(a) undertakes cross-border road transport without the required permit;

(b) undertakes or allows cross-border road transport to be undertaken contrary to the conditions or requirements of a permit;

(d) undertakes cabotage contrary to the provisions of a permit;

(e) being a permit holder or the agent or employee of a permit holder, enables a person who does not hold a permit, to use the permit holder’s permit;

(f) applies for or obtains a permit knowing that another permit has already been issued to another person or another legal person in relation to the same vehicle;

(g) with the intent to deceive, forges, alters, defaces, mutilates or adds to a permit;

(h) gives false information when required to supply information in terms of this Act;

(i) knowing that any writing is not a permit or document issued under this Act, utters or uses such writing or other document for the purposes of this Act;

(j) knowing that any permit or other document issued under this Act has been altered, defaced, mutilated or added to, uses it for the purposes of this Act;

(k) pretends that he or she is a road transport inspector;

(l) willfully obstructs or hinders a road transport inspector in the execution of his or her duties;

(m) fails to comply with a direction or demand made by a road transport inspector;

(n) being a permit-holder or a driver of a vehicle, does not adhere to any prescribed obligation;

(o) being a permit-holder fails to comply with any permit condition;

(p) being a permit-holder fails to comply with any of the duties of a permit-holder as set out in this Act;

(q) being the driver or the permit-holder fails to ensure that a permit which relates to a particular vehicle is kept in such vehicle;

(r) being the driver fails to carry a consignment note or passenger list, as the case may be, at all times in a readily accessible place on the vehicle concerned;

(s) being a permit-holder fails, within 30 days after the expiry of a permit or after the number of journeys on the permit has been completed, to submit the permit and consignment note or passenger list, as the case may be, to the Regulatory Committee;

(t) with the intent to deceive, prepares any document for use in connection with cross-border road transport containing an incorrect description, knowing that description to be incorrect;

(u) fails to apply for a duplicate permit in the case of a damaged or illegible permit;

(v) fails to affix or keep affixed a distinguishing mark on any vehicle as prescribed;

(w) fails within 30 days of any material change in regard to the information contained in the application form to notify the Regulatory Committee;

(x) fails, within seven days of receipt of the notice by the Regulatory Committee, to submit the permit by registered post or by hand to the Regulatory committee;

(y) is the registered owner of a vehicle and allows cross-border road transport or cabotage without a permit;

(z) fails to comply with the provisions of section 25(9) and 30(6);

(za) cedes, alienates, hires out or hires the authority conferred by a permit in contravention of section 47(7);

(zb) contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act if such contravention or failure is not elsewhere declared an offence,

is guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

Duties of a permit-holder: general duties – section 47

(1) The permit-holder must within 30 days of any change in relevant information notify the Chief Executive Officer thereof.

(2) The permit-holder must within 30 days of the lapsing of a registration certificate of a mechanically propelled vehicle, furnish the Regulatory Committee with a new registration certificate or a certified copy thereof.

(3) A permit-holder must at all times ensure that any vehicle being used for the transport of goods or passengers-

(a) is a fit, proper and suitable vehicle in regard to the route, the goods or passengers concerned, and the circumstances in which the transport is undertaken;

(b) is in a fit, proper and roadworthy condition in terms of the requirement of the road traffic legislation of the Republic and the state or states, as the case may be, that the vehicle will enter in terms of the provisions of the permit;

(c) is used with appropriate safety limits, precautions and requirements regarding the route, circumstances, commodity or persons being conveyed, the vehicle or the immediate public interest;

(d) does not exceed the permissible overall length as determined by the road traffic legislation of the Republic and the state or states, as the case may be, that the vehicle will enter in terms of the provisions of the permit;

(e) does not exceed the permissible authorised gross vehicle mass or other vehicle dimensions as determined by the road traffic legislation of the Republic and the state or states, as the case may be, that the vehicle will enter in terms of the provisions of the permit; and

(f) is not dangerous or unsafe or is not operated in a manner that is dangerous or unsafe.

(4) In order to comply with the requirements of this section, the permit-holder must maintain adequate and appropriate resources, drivers, personnel and facilities for the control, administration, maintenance, operation and storage of all vehicles recorded on the permit.

(5) The permit-holder must ensure that a driver of any vehicle being used for the transport of goods or passengers at all times-

(a) keeps a permit and, in the case of the transport of goods the consignment note, and in the case of the transport of passenger a passenger list, in a readily accessible place on the vehicle, to be produced upon request by a road transport inspector;

(b) holds a valid driver’s licence in terms of the road traffic legislation of the Republic and the state or states, as the case may be, that the vehicle will enter in terms of the provisions of the permit in respect of the vehicle he or she is driving;

(c) holds a valid public or professional driving permit in accordance with the provisions of the road traffic legislation of the Republic and the state or states, as the case may be, that the vehicle will enter in terms of the provision of the permit; and

(d) complies with the conditions of any road traffic legislation of the Republic and with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, in respect of a summons or notice to appear in court for an offence committed within the course and scope of the employment of the driver with the permit-holder.

(6) All holders of permits which are valid for more than one year, must submit to the Regulatory Committee annually, together with the registration certificate mentioned in subsection 2-

(a) a valid roadworthy certificate for the vehicle;

(b) where it is a condition of the permit that the holder must purchase insurance, proof that such insurance is still in force in respect of the vehicle and that all premiums have been paid;

(d) any other prescribed requirement,

failing which the permit shall lapse on the date of lapsing of such registration certificate and the holder must return it to the Chief Executive Officer within 10 days of such lapsing by delivering it by hand or by registered post.

(7) The authority conferred by a permit may not-

(a) be ceded or otherwise alienated by the holder of the permit, and no person may be a party to such a cession or alienation; or

(b) be hired out by the holder of the permit or be hired by any other person, and any such cession, alienation or hiring of a permit shall be of no legal force or effect.

Confiscated documentation – regulation 18

A national road transport inspector who has confiscated documentation in accordance with section 38(1) of the Act, must issue a notice, as provided by the Agency, to the person from whom the documentation was confiscated.

Definitions

“cross-border road transport” means the transport of passengers and their personal effects – or freight for reward or in the course of an industry, trade or business – to or from the Republic, crossing or intending to cross its borders into the territory of another state, or in transit across the Republic or the territory of another state with a vehicle on a public road.

“national road transport inspector” means a road transport inspector appointed under section 37.

“permit” means-

(a) a cabotage permit issued in respect of a vehicle for a maximum period of five years, or for a fixed number of journeys;

(b) a cross-border road transport permit issued in respect of a vehicle for a maximum period of five years or for a fixed number of journeys authorising the transport of freight or passengers on specified routes; or

(c) a temporary cross-border road transport permit or cabotage permit issued in respect of a vehicle for a maximum period of 14 days authorising the transport of freight or passengers on specified routes or cabotage, as the case may be.

“public road” means any road declared or recognised as a public road under any law, and includes any road, street, thoroughfare, or other place (whether a thoroughfare or not) to which the public or any section of the public has a right of access.

“unauthorised transport” means transport with a vehicle on a public road in contravention of this Act.

“vehicle” means-

(a) in relation to cross-border freight road transport, any mechanically-propelled road vehicle or combination of vehicles which is constructed, adapted or used for the carriage of freight and exceeds a maximum gross mass of 3,500kg;

(b) in relation to cross-border passenger road transport, any mechanically-propelled road vehicle which is constructed or adapted for the conveyance of passenger or any other vehicle which is used to convey passengers; and

(c) in relation to cabotage, any mechanically-propelled road vehicle and, in the case of a combination of vehicles, also trailers and semi-trailers, which are regarded as separate vehicles.

* The information in this article references the NRTA, Act 4 of 1998, published by Lexis Nexis in Volume III – dividers 3 and 4, updated to issue 68, as of 5 September 2024.