Private vehicle inspection stations (VIS) yesterday adjusted certificate of fitness (CoF) fees based on a November 2024 notice, but the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services has said the move is premature.
In a notice issued yesterday, the VIS Association said the adjustment is in line with Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 gazetted on November 15 2024 which set new fees for examination of motor vehicles.
“These changes have been made in accordance with the regulatory framework set forth by the Minister of Transport and Public Works, ensuring compliance with legal provisions,” reads the notice.
in progress. | Nation
Under the regulations, fees for 3.5 tonnes gross weight vehicles or less, increased from K21 000 to K30 000 while charges for vehicles of more than 3.5 tonnes gross weight were adjusted from K26 000 to K36 000.
For motorcycles, the CoF charges increased from K13 000 to K19 000.
In a letter dated May 30 2025 addressed to Road Traffic director Andrew Sandula, VIS Association chairperson Owen Malijani urged the directorate to ensure that the new pricing structure was fully updated within the Malawi Traffic Information System (Maltis) by June 2 2025.
Malijani, who operates Centre Tech in Lilongwe, in an interview yesterday said the directorate was yet to respond to the letter and the prices were not adjusted in the system.
“However, we have gone ahead with the hike because once the regulation was gazetted, the adjustment became effective by law. That is why we have posted notices in our stations so that customers should not be confused,” said Malijani.
But in a separate interview, Sandula said while the regulations were laid before Parliament, they needed to be referred to the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament which will invite the Ministry of Transport to consider the amended regulations.
“Currently, the internal processes at Parliament are still in progress. The processes are supposed to be completed before a decision is made on whether to implement the adjustments,” he said.
Reacting to the move by the operators to adjust the charges, Sandula said the directorate will refer the matter to the Ministry of Justice.
Malawi Government outsourced VIS to private operators to decongest the directorate and reduce the time it takes to access services, most notably CoF as part of the public sector reforms.
For every vehicle inspected by a VIS, the directorate collects a levy of 18 percent without value-added tax.
Apart from CoF charges, the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Fees) (Amendment) Regulations of 2024 also provide annual licence fees per inspection or reinspection of VIS at K25 000, for registration of VIS at K200 000 and for renewal of licence for VIS at K200 000.
