Document No.	Version	Effective Date	Review Date
TFC-POL-FUEL-001	1.4	1 April 2026	1 October 2026

1. Purpose and Scope

This policy establishes the framework by which The Frozen Food Courier (TFC) may apply a temporary Fuel Surcharge to customer invoices in response to significant increases in the Basic Fuel Price (BFP) as gazetted by the South African Department of Energy and Mineral Resources (DEMRE), or as communicated by TFC’s contracted bulk fuel suppliers.

This policy applies to all TFC service regions, including Gauteng and the Western Cape. Given that retail diesel prices in the Western Cape are typically higher than in Gauteng due to transport and logistics differentials, the surcharge framework accounts for regional fuel cost variation.

2. Policy Rationale

TFC operates a temperature-controlled fleet requiring diesel-powered refrigerated vehicles. Fuel represents a significant and variable component of TFC’s operating costs. The following circumstances may trigger activation of this policy:

• Significant instability in global oil markets, including geopolitical conflict affecting supply routes
• Formal notification from TFC’s bulk fuel supplier(s) of impending price increases or supply constraints
• Gazetted BFP adjustments by DEMRE that materially increase TFC’s cost base
• Sustained socio-economic or political conditions in South Africa causing structural fuel price inflation

TFC’s approach is conservative: the surcharge will only be activated when a formal notification is received from bulk fuel suppliers or when a BFP gazette confirms a material increase. TFC will not activate the surcharge speculatively.

3. Trigger Conditions

3.1 Primary Trigger

The Fuel Surcharge becomes eligible for activation when the wholesale diesel price, as invoiced by TFC’s contracted bulk fuel supplier(s), increases by R2.00 per litre or more above the baseline price established at the most recent annual rate review.

• Current baseline (Gauteng, at policy inception): R18.45 per litre (wholesale excl. VAT)
• Current baseline (Western Cape, at policy inception): R20.94 per litre (wholesale excl. VAT)

3.2 Secondary Trigger

In the event that the BFP as gazetted by DEMRE increases by R2.00 per litre or more in a single monthly adjustment, TFC may activate the surcharge regardless of whether a formal supplier notification has been received.

3.3 Activation Requirement

No surcharge will be applied until:

• TFC has received written notification from its bulk fuel supplier(s) confirming a price increase meeting the trigger threshold; OR
• The BFP gazette confirms a qualifying adjustment; AND
• TFC has provided customers with a minimum of 7 (seven) calendar days’ written notice of the surcharge amount and effective date.

4. Surcharge Calculation

4.1 Calculation Basis

The surcharge is calculated on a per-delivery-stop basis to ensure transparency and proportionality. The methodology is based on TFC’s actual operational fleet fill frequency and delivery volumes across both service regions:

Parameter	Gauteng	Western Cape
Vehicles	3	2
Fill frequency	Every 2nd operating day	Every 3rd operating day (dense routing)
Litres per fill (approx.)	87	87
Monthly fills	33	14.7
Monthly stops	~900	~500
Additional cost at R4.50/L increase	R12,920	R5,742
Breakeven per stop	R18.46	R11.48

4.2 Approved Surcharge Bands

The following bands govern the surcharge amount based on the wholesale price increase above baseline. Amounts are rounded to the nearest R5 for billing simplicity:

Tier	Wholesale Price Increase	Approx. BFP (Gauteng)	Gauteng per Stop	Western Cape per Stop	Status
Inactive	Below R2.00/litre	Below R20.45	None	None	INACTIVE
Tier 1	R2.00 – R3.49/litre	R20.45 – R21.94	R5	R5	TIER 1
Tier 2 ✅	R3.50 – R4.99/litre	R21.95 – R23.44	R10 — ACTIVE	R10 — ACTIVE	TIER 2 — ACTIVE
Tier 3	R5.00 – R9.99/litre	R23.45 – R28.44	R20	R20	TIER 3
Tier 4	R10.00/litre and above	R28.45 and above	R30 (subject to review)	R30 (subject to review)	TIER 4 – REVIEW TRIGGERED

Tier 4 activation triggers a mandatory pricing review. At this threshold, diesel price increases exceed 10% of TFC’s revenue base and TFC reserves the right to reprice affected services rather than continue absorbing cost through surcharge alone. Customers will receive individual notice and a minimum 14-day consultation period before any Tier 4 repricing takes effect.

5. Activation and Notification Procedure

• TFC management reviews bulk fuel supplier communications and the DEMRE BFP gazette upon receipt.
• If a trigger threshold is met, TFC issues a Fuel Surcharge Notice to all active customers via email, minimum 7 calendar days before the surcharge effective date.
• The notice specifies: the trigger event, the applicable surcharge band, the per-stop amount by region, and the effective date.
• The surcharge is applied as a separate line item on customer invoices, clearly labelled ‘Fuel Surcharge — [Month/Year]’.
• The TFC website rates page and published rate cards are updated to reflect the active surcharge.

6. Deactivation

The Fuel Surcharge will be removed when the wholesale diesel price returns below the applicable trigger threshold for two consecutive monthly billing cycles, or when TFC’s bulk fuel supplier confirms a reduction bringing the price below the threshold.

Deactivation notice will be provided to customers within 7 days of the decision, with the removal effective from the next billing cycle.

7. Contractual Basis

This policy operates under Sections 7.2 and 7A of TFC’s standard Terms and Conditions, which reserve TFC’s right to apply fuel and operating cost surcharges and to adjust pricing in response to material cost increases. The Fuel Surcharge is not a permanent rate increase and does not alter contracted base rates.

Customers on formal written fixed-rate agreements will receive individual notice and the applicable notice period under their agreement before the surcharge applies to their account.

This policy should be read in conjunction with TFC’s standard Terms and Conditions available at thefrozenfoodcourier.co.za/our-terms-and-conditions/