Fix FASTag on Front Windshield, Else Pay Double Toll: NHAI

Moneylife Digital Team 19 July 2024

Consumer Interest

In a move to prevent deliberate avoidance of FASTag installation, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued new guidelines mandating double toll fees for vehicles without FASTag affixed to their front windshields. The new policy targets users who enter toll lanes without a properly installed FASTag, aiming to reduce delays and improve traffic flow at toll plazas.

"This initiative to enforce double toll fees for non-affixed FASTag aims to streamline toll operations further and ensure a smoother, more comfortable journey for all national highway users," NHAI says in a release.

NHAI has rolled out detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all user fee collection agencies and concessionaires, instructing them to enforce the double fee rule strictly. Notices will be prominently displayed at all toll plazas, warning drivers of the penalties for non-compliance, it added.

To ensure adherence, CCTV footage capturing vehicle registration numbers (VRN) will be recorded at toll plazas for vehicles without FASTag. According to NHAI, this measure will help maintain accurate records of fee charges and vehicle presence.

NHAI's established rules already mandate the proper affixation of FASTag on the inside of the vehicle's front windshield. "Vehicles without an affixed FASTag cannot process electronic toll collection (ETC) transactions and will be subject to double toll fees and potential blacklisting. Issuer banks have been instructed to ensure FASTags are affixed at the time of issuance from various point-of-sale (POS) locations," it added.

Currently, NHAI collects tolls across about 45,000km of national highways and expressways, managing around 1,000 toll plazas nationwide under the National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. With a penetration rate of about 98% and over 8mn (million) users, FASTag has significantly enhanced the efficiency of the electronic toll collection system in India, NHAI says.

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