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Rule 70 - Taxation and tariff of fees of attorneys

(1)        (a)        The taxing master shall be competent to tax any bill of costs for services actually

rendered by an attorney in his capacity as such in connection with litigious work and such bill shall be taxed subject to the provisions of subrule (5), in accordance with the provisions of the appended tariff: Provided that the taxing master shall not tax costs in instances where some other officer is empowered so to do.

(b)        The provisions relating to taxation existing prior to the promulgation of this subrule shall continue to apply to any work done or to be done pursuant to a mandate accepted by a practitioner prior to such date.

(2)        At the taxation of any bill of costs the taxing master may call for such books, documents, papers or accounts as in his opinion are necessary to enable him properly to determine any matter arising from such taxation.

(3)        With a view to affording the party who has been awarded an order for costs a full indemnity for all costs reasonably incurred by him in relation to his claim or defence and to ensure that all such costs shall be borne by the party against whom such order has been awarded, the taxing master shall, on every taxation, allow all such costs, charges and expenses as appear to him to have been necessary or proper for the attainment of justice or for defending the rights of any party, but save as against the party who incurred the same, no costs shall be allowed which appear to the taxing master to have been incurred or increased through overcaution, negligence or mistake, or by payment of a special fee to an advocate, or special charges and expenses to witnesses or to other persons or by other unusual expenses.

(3A)      Value added tax may be added to all costs, fees, disbursements and tariffs in respect of which value added tax is chargeable.

[Subrule (3A) substituted by GN R798 of June 1997.]

(3B)      Prior to enrolling a matter for taxation, the party who has been awarded an order for costs shall, by notice as near as may be in accordance with Form 26 of the First Schedule —

(a)        afford the party liable to pay costs at the time therein stated, and for a period of ten (10) days thereafter, by prior arrangement, during normal business hours and on any one or more such days, the opportunity to inspect such documents or notes pertaining to any item on the bill of costs; and

(b)        require the party to whom notice is given, to deliver to the party giving the notice within twenty (20) days, a written notice of opposition, specifying the items on the bill of costs objected to, and a brief summary of the reason for such objection.

[Subrule (3B) inserted by GN R90 of 12 February 2010.]

(4)        The taxing master shall not proceed with the taxation of any bill of costs unless he or she is satisfied that the party liable to pay the costs has received —

(a)        due notice in terms of subrule (3B); and

(b)        not less than 10 days’ notice of the date, time and place of such taxation and that he or she is entitled to be present thereat: Provided that such notice shall not be necessary —

(i)         if the party liable to pay the costs has consented in writing to taxation in his or her absence;

(ii)         if the party liable to pay the costs failed to give notice of intention to oppose in terms of subrule (3B); or

(iii)        for the taxation of writ and postwrit bills:

Provided further that, if any party fails to appear after having given notice of opposition in terms of subrule (3B)(b), the taxation may proceed in their absence.

[Subrule (4) substituted by GN R90 of 12 February 2010 and by GN R1055 of 29 September 2017.]

(5)        (a)        The taxing master shall be entitled, in his discretion, at any time to depart from any of

the provisions of this tariff in extraordinary or exceptional cases, where strict adherence to such provisions would be inequitable.

(b)        In computing the fee to be allowed in respect of items 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 of Section A; 1, 2 and 6 of Section B and 2, 3, 4 and 7 of Section C, the taxing master shall take into account the time necessarily taken, the complexity of the matter, the nature of the subject matter in dispute, the amount in dispute and any other factors which he considers relevant.

(5A)      (a)        The taxing master may grant a party wasted costs occasioned by the failure

of the taxing party or his or her attorney or both to appear at a taxation or by

the withdrawal by the taxing party of his or her bill of costs.

(b)        The taxing master may order in appropriate circumstances that the wasted costs be paid de bonis propriis by the attorney.

(c)        In the making of an order in terms of paragraphs (a) or (b), the taxing master shall have regard to all the appropriate facts and circumstances.

(d)        Where a party or his or her attorney or both misbehave at a taxation, the taxing master may —

(i)         expel the party or attorney or both from the taxation and proceed with and complete the taxation in the absence of such party or attorney or both; or

(ii)         adjourn the taxation and refer it to a judge in chambers for directions with regard to the finalisation of the taxation; or

(iii)        adjourn the taxation and submit a written report to a judge in chambers on the misbehaviour of the party or attorney or both with the view to obtaining directions from the judge as to whether contempt of court proceedings would be appropriate.

(e)        Contempt of court proceedings as contemplated in paragraph (d)(iii) shall be held by a judge in chambers at his or her direction.

[Subrule (5A) inserted by GN 1723 of 30 December 1998.]

(6)        (a)        In order to diminish as far as possible the costs arising from the copying of

documents to accompany the briefs of advocates, the taxing master shall not allow the costs of any unnecessary duplication in briefs.

(b)        Fees may be allowed by the taxing master in his discretion as between party and party for the copying of any document which, in his view, was reasonably required for any proceedings.

(7)        Fees for copying shall be disallowed to the extent by which such fees could reasonably have been reduced by the use of printed forms in respect of bonds, credit agreements or other documents.

(8)        Where, in the opinion of the taxing master, more than one attorney has necessarily been engaged in the performance of any of the services covered by the tariff, each such attorney shall be entitled to be remunerated on the basis set out in the tariff for the work necessarily done by him.

(9)        Save for the forms set out in the First Schedule to these Rules, a page shall contain at least 250 words and four Figures shall be counted as a word.

(10)       The costs taxed and allowed in terms of the tariff for acts performed after the date of commencement of the rules published by Government Notice R210 of 10 February 1989 shall be increased by an amount equal to 70 per cent of the total amount of such costs, for acts performed after the date of commencement of the rules published by Government Notice R2410 of 30 September 1991 shall be increased by an amount equal to 100 per cent of the total amount of such costs and for acts performed after 1 July 1993 only the Tariff of fees of attorneys in rule 70, published by Government Notice R974 of 1 June 1993, shall apply.

[Subrule (10) inserted by GN R1996 of 7 September 1984 and substituted by GN R2410 of 30 September 1991 (as corrected by GN R2479 of 18 October 1991) and by GN R974 of 1 June 1993, and amended by GN R1557 of 20 September 1996.]