The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued refunds in a staggering 17.7 lakh (1.77 million) cases between January and December 2025 due to incorrect toll deductions. The Road Transport Ministry is considering eliminating manual entry of vehicle details by toll operators to prevent such errors.
According to Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) reported that these refunds stemmed from incorrect user fee deductions out of a total of 464 crore FASTag transactions. While the number of faulty transactions is small, accounting for only 0.03% of all FASTag transactions, authorities maintain that such errors are unacceptable.
A significant portion of these incorrect deductions, approximately 35%, occurred even when the vehicles were not physically present at the toll plaza when the FASTag wallet was debited. These transactions often result from manual entry of vehicle details by toll operators. The Ministry of Road Transport is considering eliminating this manual entry option to address the issue.
In 2024, the government made 12.55 lakh refunds for faulty toll collections on National Highways. Penalties exceeding Rs 2 crore were imposed on fee-collecting agencies. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) also barred 14 agencies for irregularities and is considering installing audit cameras with AI at high-value toll plazas for better monitoring.
FASTag has largely automated toll collection on national highways across the country. However, instances of wrongful deductions continue to occur, prompting NHAI to take corrective measures. These errors can arise from several sources, including technical glitches, incorrect tag readings, or system malfunctions. Some instances occur when user fee-collecting agencies enter incorrect Vehicle Registration Numbers (VRN) manually, charging vehicles even when they have not used the highway. Double deductions and charging vehicles for the incorrect route also contribute to the errors.
To address these concerns, NHAI has implemented a system for users to file complaints and claim refunds for wrongful deductions. Customers can register complaints by calling 1033 or emailing falsededuction@ihmcl.com. Each case undergoes thorough investigation, and if the complaint is found valid, chargebacks are immediately issued to the customer, and a penalty of Rs 1 lakh is imposed on the responsible toll operator. When filing a complaint, users should provide all pertinent details, such as the transaction ID, date and time of the issue, and vehicle number.
