The Tolls Bill
THE TOLLS ACT, 2011
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Section
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART II
ADMINISTRATION
3. Designation of toll authority
4. Functions of Agency
5. Inspectorate unit
6. Toll collectors
PART III
TOLLS
7. Imposition of toll
8. Toll points
9. Payment of toll
10. Exemptions
11. Use of toll fees
12. Suit for recovery
13. Register
PART IV
CONCESSION AGREEMENTS
14. Concession agreement
15. Exercise of toll road function by concessionaire
16. Exercise of toll road function by Agency
17. Utility contracts
18. Duty to maintain toll road
19. Closure of toll road
20. Power of concessionaire to assign or delegate
21. Transfer on termination of concession agreement
Tolls [ No. 14 of 2011 193
Single copies of this Act may be obtained from the Government Printer,
P.O. Box 30136, 10101 Lusaka, Price K 7,000 each.
PART V
GENERAL PROVISIONS
22. General offences and penalties
23. Summary imposition of penalties
24. Forfeiture of certain vehicles
25. Regulations
26. Repeal of Cap. 465
194 No. 14 of 2011] Tolls
An Act to establish and provide for the operation of toll
roads; provide for the charging and collection of tolls;
provide for private sector participation in the tolling of
roads; repeal and replace the Tolls Act, 1983; and provide
for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.
[15th April, 2011.
ENACTED by the Parliament of Zambia.
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. This Act may be cited as the Tolls Act, 2011.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“Agency” means the Road Development Agency established
under the Public Roads Act, 2002;
“concessionaire” means a person authorised by the Minister
to manage a toll road under a concession agreement
pursuant to section fourteen, and includes a successor,
delegate, transferee or assignee of the concessionaire;
“concession agreement” means an agreement made pursuant
to section fourteen;
“development” means the upgrading of a road to a new
standard, including the construction of a new road or bridge
or widening or rehabilitation of a road;
“Director” means the person appointed Director under section
six of the Public Roads Act, 2002;
“inspector” means a person appointed as such under section
five;
Enactment
Short title
Act. No. 12
of 2002
Tolls [ No. 14 of 2011 195
GOVERNMENT OF ZAMBIA
ACT
No. 14 of 2011
Date of Assent: 12th April, 2011.
Act. No. 12
of 2002
Interpretation
“maintenance” in relation to a road, means all works to
preserve road quality, road shape, drain, culverts, structures
and bridges, spot improvement of bad spots to maintain
accessibility, re-sealing, re-shaping and re-gravelling;
“road” has the meaning assigned to it in the Public Roads
Act, 2002;
“Road Fund” means the National Road Fund established under
section sixteen of the National Road Fund Act, 2002;
“toll” means a fee paid or payable on any road, border post,
bridge, pontoon or other place, where the Agency or a
concessionaire operates a toll point;
“toll collector” means a person appointed as such under section
six;
“toll road” means a road on which a toll is payable under this
Act; and
“vehicle” means a vessel drawn, propelled or driven by any
kind of power generated by an automated engine, and
capable of being used as a means of transportation on land,
but does not include a wagon, dray, cart, carriage or bicycle.
PART II
ADMINISTRATION
3. The Agency shall, subject to the direction of the Minister,
be responsible for the administration and implementation of the
provisions of this Act.
4. The functions of the Agency are to—
(a) regulate the operation and maintenance of toll roads;
(b) monitor compliance of concessionaires with the terms
and conditions of concession agreements;
(c) advise the Minister on the design, construction, safety,
regulation, operation and maintenance of toll roads; and
(d) perform such other function as may be conferred by, or
under, this Act or any other law.
5. (1) The Agency may, in order to ensure compliance with
the provisions of this Act, establish, under the general supervision
of the Director, an inspectorate unit.
Act No. 13 of
2002
196 No. 14 of 2011] Tolls
Act No. 12 of
2002
Designation
of
toll authority
Functions of
Agency
Inspectorate
unit
(2) The Agency may appoint any suitable person to be an
inspector on such terms and conditions as the Agency may
determine.
(3) The Agency shall provide an inspector with a certificate of
appointment, in the prescribed form, which shall be prima facie
evidence of the inspector’s appointment as such.
(4) An inspector shall, in performing any function under this
Act—
(a) be in possession of the certificate of appointment referred
to in subsection (3); and
(b) show the certificate of appointment to any person who
requests to see it or is subject to an investigation under
this Act.
(5) An inspector may, with a warrant, at any reasonable time—
(a) enter and search any toll facility or vehicle that the
inspector has reasonable grounds to believe is being used
for the commission of an offence or contrary to the
provisions of this Act;
(b) search any person in the toll facility or vehicle if there are
reasonable grounds for believing that the person has
possession of any document or article that has a bearing
on an investigation:
Provided that a person shall only be searched by a
person of the same sex;
(c) examine any document or article found within the toll facility
or vehicle that has a bearing on the investigation;
(d) require information to be given about any document or
article by—
(i) the owner of the toll facility or vehicle;
(ii) the person in control of the toll facility or vehicle;
(iii) any person who has control of the document
or article; or
(iv) any other person who may have the
information;
(e) take extracts from, or make copies of, any book or
document found in the toll facility or vehicle that has a
bearing on an investigation;
Tolls [No. 14 of 2011 197
(f) use any computer system in a toll facility or require the
assistance of any person in the toll facility to use that
computer system to—
(i) search any data contained in, or available to, the
computer system;
(ii) reproduce any record from the data; or
(iii) seize any output from the computer for
examination and copying; and
(g) attach and, if necessary, remove from a toll facility or
vehicle for examination and safeguarding, any document
or article that has a bearing on an investigation.
(6) An inspector may seize any vehicle used for the
commission of an offence under this Act.
(7) An inspector who removes any document or article from a
toll facility or vehicle under paragraph (g) of subsection (5) shall—
(a) issue a receipt for the document or article to the owner
of, or person in control of, the toll facility or vehicle; and
(b) return the document or article, as soon as practicable,
after achieving the purpose for which it was removed.
(8) A person who—
(a) delays or obstructs an inspector in the performance of
the inspector’s functions;
(b) refuses to give an inspector such reasonable assistance
as the inspector may require for the purpose of
exercising the inspector’s powers;
(c) impersonates an inspector; or
(d) gives an inspector false or misleading information in answer
to an inquiry made by the inspector;
commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not
exceeding two hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment
for a period not exceeding two years, or to both.
(9) An inspector shall furnish the Agency with a written report
and any other information relating to an inspection as the Agency
may require.
(10) Nothing in this section requires a person to disclose or
produce information or a document if the person would in an action
in a court be entitled to refuse to disclose or produce the information
or document.
198 No. 14 of 2011] Tolls
6. (1) The Agency may, on such terms and conditions as it
may determine, appoint any suitable person as a toll collector for
purposes of this Act and to perform such other functions as the
Agency may specify.
(2) A toll collector shall remit to the Agency any toll collected
in such manner as the Minister may prescribe.
PART III
TOLLS
7. There is hereby imposed a road toll.
8. The Agency may, on any road, border post, bridge, pontoon
or other place—
(a) operate toll points; and
(b) erect and maintain such structures necessary for operating
toll points.
9. (1) A driver of a vehicle passing through a toll point shall, at
the time of passing through the toll point, pay the toll in respect of
that vehicle to the toll collector.
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1), commits an
offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding two
hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding two years, or to both.
10. (1) The Minister may, by statutory instrument, on such
conditions as the Minister may determine, exempt any vehicle or
class of vehicles from the payment of the toll.
(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1), an exemption made
under that subsection may be general or restricted to particular toll
points or hours.
(3) Free passage on toll roads shall be granted to the following:
(a) authorised emergency vehicles, including fire department
and police vehicles, public or private ambulances,
emergency response vehicles and vehicles carrying blood
or tissue banks;
(b) military vehicles;
(c) contractors working on the construction, improvement,
maintenance or development of a road;and
Tolls [No. 14 of 2011 199
Toll collectors
Toll points
Imposition of
toll
Payment of
toll
Exemptions
(d) the President’s and the Vice-President’s motorcade.
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to temporary free passage,
not exceeding twenty-four hours, that is provided for operational
safety or emergency reasons determined by the Director.
11. The toll fee or other charge imposed for the use of a toll
road and collected by the Agency shall form part of the Road
Fund and shall be used exclusively for the construction, maintenance
and rehabilitation of roads.
12. Any toll payable under this Act shall be a debt due to the
Government and may be recovered as a civil debt by the
Government.
13. A toll collector shall keep and maintain a register of all
vehicles paying the toll at the toll point and shall submit to the Agency
such periodic returns of the payment of the tolls in the prescribed
form.
PART IV
CONSESSION AGREEMENTS
14. (1) The Minister may, in consultation with the Minister
responsible for finance and in accordance with the Public-Private
Partnership Act, 2009, authorise any person to operate and maintain
any toll road under a concession agreement.
(2) The Minister may, in consultation with the Minister
responsible for finance, by statutory instrument, prescribe the
contents of concession agreements.
15. (1) A concessionaire shall exercise such functions in
relation to a toll road as shall be specified in the concession
agreement.
(2) Subject to this Act and the concession agreement, a
concessionaire shall collect and retain the toll levied and collected
pursuant to the concession agreement.
16. (1) A toll road function exercisable by a concessionaire
may, with the approval of the Minister, be exercised by the Agency
in accordance with the concession agreement—
(a) in an emergency, as if it were not a toll road;
(b) if it appears to the Agency that—
(i) its exercise is necessary or expedient in the
200 No. 14 of 2011] Tolls
Use of toll
fees
Suit for
recovery
Register
Concession
agreement
Act No. 14
of 2009
Exercise of
toll road
function by
concessionaire
Exercise of
toll road
function by
Agency
interests of road safety; or
(ii) the concessionaire has failed or is unable to
effectively discharge the function in any respect;
and the Agency shall not be liable for anything done or omitted by
the concessionaire in the exercise or purported exercise of the toll
road function.
(2) The Agency may recover from the concessionaire the costs
incurred by it in exercising a toll road function in the circumstances
specified in subsection (1), including any other relevant
administrative expenses.
17. (1) A concessionaire may, in relation to the exercise of a
toll road function, enter into arrangements with a specified
organisation for the provision of any prescribed utility service on a
toll road.
(2) The Minister may, where a concessionaire fails to agree
with a specified organisation on any issue concerning the provision
of a prescribed utility service, on the request of either party,
intervene in the public interest and, after hearing the parties, make
a determination on the matter.
(3) A determination by the Minister under subsection (2) shall
be binding on the parties.
18. A concessionaire shall—
(a) maintain the toll road to which the concession agreement
relates in good repair and condition and in accordance
with sound engineering and operating practices; and
(b) comply with such design, construction, operating,
maintenance and safety standards as may, after
consultation with the Agency, be prescribed by the
Minister.
19. (1) Subject to subsection (3), a concessionaire may close
part of a toll road to traffic in order to do work on the toll road for
such time as is necessary to do the work but in all cases the
concessionaire shall keep the toll road open to traffic travelling in
both directions at all times.
(2) A concessionaire—
Tolls [ No. 14 of 2011 201
Utility
contracts
Duty to
maintain
toll road
Closure of
toll road
(a) may close a toll road on the occurrence of any incident on
the toll road that endangers the life, health or safety of
persons using the toll road; and
(b) shall, as soon as practicable after the closure, pursuant to
paragraph (a), notify the Director of the closure of the
toll road.
(3) A concessionaire shall, where the concessionaire intends to
close the whole or part of a toll road for more than seventy-two
hours—
(a) give to the Director at least thirty days written notice or
such shorter period as may be agreed with the Director;
and
(b) not commence the closure without the approval of the
Director.
(4) A concessionaire shall not close a toll road under subsection
(3) unless the concessionaire provides an alternative route accessible
to the public in the area in which the toll road is closed.
(5) A person who uses any part of a toll road which is closed to
traffic in accordance with this section does so at that person’s own
risk and the concessionaire shall not be liable for any injury, loss or
damage sustained by that person.
(6) Where a concessionaire closes a toll road or part thereof
under this section, the concessionaire shall notify the public of such
closure by—
(a) placing signs in a conspicuous position on the toll road; an
(b) the publication of a notice in a daily newspaper of general
circulation in Zambia.
20. (1) A concessionaire may, subject to such terms and conditions
as the Minister may, in writing, approve, assign or delegate all or
part of the concessionaire’s rights and obligations under the
concession agreement.
(2) A concessionaire may, where the concessionaire delegates
the concessionaire’s rights and obligations under subsection (1), with
the approval of the Minister, in writing, revoke the delegation.
(3) The delegation of rights and obligations under this section
does not preclude the performance of the rights by the concessionaire.
21. (1) A concession agreement may provide, on termination
202 No. 14 of 2011] Tolls
Power of
concessionaire
to
assign or
delegate
of the agreement, for the transfer to the Agency of such property,
rights and liabilities of the concessionaire as may be approved by
the Minister.
(2) Where a concession agreement terminates or is terminated
before the end of the toll period, until appropriate arrangements as
specified in the concession agreement are made by the
concessionaire, the Agency—
(a) shall take reasonable steps to secure the appointment of
a new concessionaire; and
(b) may collect and retain tolls in the same manner as the
concessionaire, for a period of not more than two years,
until a new concessionaire is appointed or the toll period
ends.
PART V
GENERAL PROVISIONS
22. A person who—
(a) fraudulently or forcibly drives a vehicle through a toll point
or without paying the toll; and
(b) having collected any toll, fails or refuses to remit the toll
to the Agency;
(c) uses any counterfeit receipt to avoid the payment of any
toll or otherwise attempts to evade the payment of a
toll;
(d) fails, neglects or refuses to obey an instruction or direction
of the Agency, a concessionaire or a person authorised
by the Agency or concessionaire;
(e) deposits glasses, garbage or any other offensive matter
on a toll road;
(f) defaces or removes any barricade, light, detour sign or
notice relating to the closure of a toll road;
(g) uses any part of a toll road which is closed to traffic;
(h) willfully or negligently causes damage to any toll road;
and
(i) removes or destroys any barrier placed on a toll road;
commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not
Tolls [No. 14 of 2011 203
Transfer on
termination
of
concession
agreement
General
offences and
penalties
exceeding three hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment
for a period not exceeding three years, or to both.
23. (1) An inspector or a toll collector may, where satisfied
that a person has committed an offence for which the penalty does
not exceed two hundred thousand penalty units or where a person
has admitted the commission of an offence under this Act for which
the penalty does not exceed two hundred thousand penalty units,
summarily demand from the person the payment of a fine not
exceeding six thousand penalty units in respect of the offence.
(2) An inspector or a toll collector shall, where the inspector
or toll collector demands a payment under subsection (1), inform
the person against whom the demand is made of the right to admit
or dispute the liability.
(3) A person from whom payment of a fine has been demanded
under subsection (1) may elect to admit liability and pay the fine or
dispute liability.
(4) The payment of a fine shall operate as a bar to any further
criminal proceedings against the person making the payment in
respect of the offence concerned.
(5) An inspector or a toll collector who receives payment of a
fine shall give a receipt to the person making the payment in such
form as may be prescribed.
(6) An inspector or a toll collector who receives a payment
under this section and—
(a) fails to issue a receipt to the person making payment as
required under subsection (5);
(b) fails to account for any payment made under this section;
or
(c) in any manner, misuses or puts to personal use any payment
made under this section;
commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not
exceeding three hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment
for a period not exceeding three years, or to both.
24. Upon the conviction of an offender under this Part, if the
court is satisfied that the owner of the vehicle was a party to the
offence or that the offence was committed with the knowledge of
the owner of the vehicle, the court may, in addition to any other
sentence, order the forfeiture of that vehicle to the State:
Provided that the forfeiture of the vehicle shall not be
Summary
imposition
of
penalties
204 No. 14 of 2011] Tolls
Forfeiture
of certain
vehicles
ordered under this section without giving the owner of the
vehicle an opportunity to be heard.
25. (1) The Minister may, in consultation with the Minister
responsible for finance, by statutory instrument, make regulations
for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the
Minister may make regulations for—
(a) the toll to be levied under this Act and the manner of
payment and collection of the toll;
(b) the designation of any road as a toll road;
(c) the toll road in respect of which any toll may be levied,
collected and retained;
(d) the classes of vehicles or persons for whose use the toll
road is intended and from whom any toll may be collected
and retained;
(e) the toll that shall be charged during the concession period,
or any part thereof;
(f) the place where any toll is to be collected and the form
and manner of the collection;
(g) the issuance, inspection and collection of receipts and the
forms of authorisation, electronic or otherwise, for the
purposes of the use of the toll road; and
(h) anything that is required to be prescribed under this Act.
26. The Tolls Act, 1983, is hereby repealed.
Tolls [No. 14 of 2011 205
Regulations
Repeal of Cap.
465
Act No. 11 of
1983
206
