{"id":480455,"date":"2021-04-01T11:42:43","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T09:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=480455"},"modified":"2021-04-01T11:42:43","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T09:42:43","slug":"here-are-the-big-price-hikes-you-can-expect-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/finance\/480455\/here-are-the-big-price-hikes-you-can-expect-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Here are the big price hikes you can expect this month"},"content":{"rendered":"

April is known for being the month of price hikes in South Africa, as the government ushers in a new financial year – and a host of tax changes with it – while companies like DStv and Eskom also implement their price adjustments around the same time.<\/p>\n

While South Africans have been left battered by a year of Covid-19 and the lockdowns that have come with it, these hikes are largely unavoidable and will need to be taken on the chin.<\/p>\n

BusinessTech looked at some of the most notable increases below and how they will impact your finances.<\/p>\n

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Fuel prices<\/strong><\/p>\n

Motorists need to gear themselves for record-high fuel prices<\/a><\/strong>, when the official adjustments are made in the next week (Wednesday, 7 April).<\/p>\n

Month-end data from the Central Energy Fund points to a massive increase of 73 cents a litre for petrol, an increase of 39 cents for diesel, and an increase of 37 cents for illuminating paraffin.<\/p>\n

This is before additional taxes are added, however, which will see a combined 27 cents per litre added for the general fuel levy and Road Accident Fund levy, all coming into effect this month.<\/p>\n

According to the AA, this will push the total increase to around R1 per litre for petrol – pushing prices up to record highs of about R17.32 a litre.<\/p>\n

Higher fuel prices will elevate costs all along the value chain and could see shelf prices for goods and service costs also increase as a result.<\/p>\n

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Electricity<\/strong><\/p>\n

A High Court ruling in 2020 gave power utility Eskom permission to raise additional revenue through tariff hikes over three years.<\/p>\n

The energy regulator, Nersa, managed to negotiate this level down to R10 billion in the current year, translating to a 15.6% increase in prices as of 1 April.<\/p>\n

The court order stated that an amount of 5.44c\/kWh will be added to the average standard tariff for Eskom customers in the 2021\/22 tariff year making the aggregate standard tariff for Eskom customers in the 2021\/22 tariff year 134.30c\/kWh.<\/p>\n

These price hikes are already filtering through to end-users in different municipalities, as seen with recent price adjustment notifications from areas like the City of Joburg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Alcohol and cigarettes<\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of National Treasury’s 2021 budget, it was announced that sin taxes would be increasing in the new financial year. This is through an 8% increase in alcohol and tobacco excise duties.<\/p>\n

For those who enjoy an alcoholic beverage, the following price increases apply:<\/p>\n