Previously, we reported that the Transport Minister Anthony Loke had announced that private vehicle owners no longer need to display the road tax starting from 10 February 2023, and can opt for the digital version instead.
But some Road Transport Department (JPJ) branches put up a notice stating that they will no longer issue physical road tax, leading people to believe that the government has started transitioning fully to digital road tax. However, this is not the case.
The Star reports that Anthony Loke stated they have not transitioned to digital road tax and the JPJ has directed several branches to remove the notice.
The directive came from JPJ director-general Rospiagos Taha, instructing branches to inform customers that they should now renew their road tax online using the MyJPJ application, starting from 1 August 2023.
During a press conference, Loke clarified that the road tax stickers are still being issued, but some branches had run out of stock, leading to the mistaken notice. He took prompt action to order new stocks after discovering the situation.
The transition to digital road tax is underway, but the Transport Ministry has not set a definitive cut-off date for its full implementation. Vehicle owners can currently choose between the physical sticker and the digital version.
Loke mentioned that eventually, a complete shift to digital road tax is likely, but no decision has been made yet. This transition is expected to take around six months to one year. According to JPJ, only 30% of vehicle owners have currently opted for digital road tax since its introduction.
The shift to digital road tax is aimed at reducing congestion at JPJ offices and counters, potentially by up to 80%, and could save RM96 million annually in terms of sticker and card costs. On average, 1.5 million vehicles need to renew their road tax every month.
