MEDIA RELEASE
Government Provides Relief To Motor Vehicle Owners
In recognition of the severe impacts of COVID-19 on Fiji’s Economy and on families in Fiji, the Minister for Economy, the Honourable Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum announced in the 2021/2022 budget the complete exemption of the annual Motor Vehicle Accident Levy for the period commencing on and from 1st August 2021 to 31st July 2022. The announcement provides relief to motor vehicle owners for a period of one year as the nation copes with the significant impacts of COVID-19. The owner of a motor vehicle is, upon the registration or renewal of registration of the motor vehicle with the Authority, exempted from payment of the annual Motor Vehicle Accident Levy. The budget also provides other motor vehicle-related relief.
ACCF Chief Executive Officer, Parvez Akbar says ACCF fully supports the decision to exempt the annual Motor Vehicle Accident Levy as well as the other motor vehicle-related exemptions as this will certainly ease the financial burden on motor vehicle owners in these very difficult times. Notwithstanding the impact that COVID-19 has had on the economy and the nation as a whole, ACCF has continued to receive and process applications for compensation.
To date ACCF has paid over $20 million in compensation for motor vehicle, employment and school accidents and the exemption granted in respect of the payment of the Motor Vehicle Accident Levy will not affect ACCF’s ability to continue to compensate victims of these accidents.
With the passing of the Accident Compensation Act 2017 (the Act), the Fijian Government brought about the most significant transformation for victims of motor vehicle accidents in the history of Fiji. The legislation ushered in a Government-funded compensation scheme which enabled the payment of compensation to victims of motor vehicle accidents in Fiji without having to establish fault. The benefit of the no-fault scheme has clearly been realised and the facts of many cases are such that the applicants would not have been entitled to compensation under the previous law. It also removed the need for victims to pursue their claims through protracted and costly legal proceedings and uncertainty of outcomes. Since 1st January 2019 ACCF has been paying compensation for employment and school accidents as well, on a no-fault basis.