Starting November 15, there's a significant change regarding penalties for vehicles without a valid FASTag. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has introduced a provision allowing users without FASTags, or with non-functional ones, to pay a reduced penalty by using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Instead of the current double toll charge, these users will now pay 1.25 times the regular toll if they opt to pay via UPI.
This move aims to reduce cash transactions at toll plazas, which have been identified as a source of revenue leakage. Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari has stated that leakages in national highway toll collection amount to nearly ₹10,000 crore annually. By encouraging UPI payments, the government hopes to curb these losses and promote a more streamlined toll collection process.
For example, if the standard toll for a vehicle is ₹100, currently, a vehicle without FASTag would have to pay ₹200 in cash. Under the new rule, if that user pays via UPI, they will only pay ₹125.
It's important to note that these changes do not negate the importance of having a valid and functional FASTag. New FASTag rules that went into effect earlier in the year, on February 17, 2025, focused on streamlining toll payments and reducing disputes, also imposing penalties for delays or blacklisted tags. These rules included measures such as declining transactions for blacklisted FASTags or those with insufficient balance, and potentially levying extra charges if toll transactions are processed more than 15 minutes after a vehicle passes the toll reader.
Specifically, if a FASTag has been blacklisted for more than 60 minutes before a vehicle reaches a toll plaza, the transaction will be declined. Similarly, if a FASTag remains blacklisted for at least 10 minutes after being scanned, the toll payment will also be declined. In such cases, users might face double toll charges. A grace period of 70 minutes was introduced, allowing users 60 minutes before and 10 minutes after reaching a toll plaza to recharge their account and avoid penalties if the FASTag is blacklisted due to payment failures or inactive tags.
The adoption of FASTag has been significant, with approximately 98% of toll collections currently done through FASTag. This has reduced the average wait time at toll plazas to 47 seconds as of 2022.
Furthermore, a new rule also addresses situations where a vehicle with a valid FASTag and sufficient balance is unable to pay the toll due to malfunctioning electronic toll collection infrastructure. In such cases, the vehicle will be allowed to pass without payment, and a zero-transaction receipt must be issued. The notification also mandates that toll collection agencies provide receipts with details such as the date and time of payment, the total amount received, and the vehicle class.
These changes, including the reduced penalty for UPI payments and the regulations surrounding FASTag usage, reflect the government's ongoing efforts to digitize toll collection, reduce congestion, and ensure a smoother experience for highway users.
