No FASTag on Front Windshield? ‘Double Trouble’ for Defaulters as NHAI Set to Charge Twice The Toll

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways announced on Thursday that the NHAI has given recommendations to collect twice the user charge from such defaulters entering the toll lanes, in an effort to discourage users of national highways from purposefully failing to install FASTag on their vehicles’ windscreens.

According to the government, the failure to apply the FASTag to the windscreen causes needless delays at toll booths, inconveniencing other drivers on the national highway system.
MoRTH said in a statement that “all User Fee Collection Agencies and Concessionaires have been issued detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to charge double user fee in case of non-affixation of FASTag on the front windshield.”

The information will also be prominently displayed at all user fee plazas, informing highway travellers about the penalties for non-compliance of entering a toll lane without a fixed FASTag on the front windshield.

In addition, CCTV footage with the vehicle registration number (VRN) will be recorded at the fee plaza of the non-affixed FASTag cases.

“This will help in maintaining proper record regarding the fee charged and presence of the vehicle in the toll lane,” said the statement.

In accordance with already established rules, the National Highways Authority of India aims to enforce the standard procedural guidelines for affixation of FASTag on the front windshield of the assigned vehicle from the inside.

Any FASTag that is not affixed on the assigned vehicle as per standard process is not entitled to carry out electronic toll collection (ETC) transactions at a user fee plaza and will have to pay double the toll fee as well as can be duly blacklisted.

“Issuer banks have also been directed to ensure fixation of the FASTag to the assigned vehicle on the front windshield at the time of issuance from various Point-of-Sale (POS),” the ministry said.

NHAI collects user fees on national highways as per the National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. At present, user fee is collected for approximately 45,000 km of national highways and expressways at around 1,000 toll plazas across the country.

With a penetration rate of around 98 per cent and over eight crore users, FASTag has revolutionised the electronic toll collection system in the country. Officials say this initiative of charging double the user fee for non-affixation of FASTag will help make toll operations more efficient and ensure seamless and comfortable journeys for national highway users.