No FASTag on windshield? Prepare to pay double the toll on national highways
Vehicles without a FASTag sticker cause unnecessary delays at toll plazas and charging double the fee will help to make toll operations more efficient, the ministry of road transport and highways said while justifying the decision.
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FollowThe Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said on Thursday that the NHAI has given recommendations to collect double the user charge from such defaulters entering the toll lanes, in an effort to discourage users of national roads 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 windscreen." 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, at the fee plaza of the non-affixed FASTag instances, CCTV video containing the vehicle registration number (VRN) will be captured.
According to the statement, "this will help in maintaining proper record regarding the fee charged and presence of the vehicle in the toll lane." The National Highways Authority of India seeks to implement the standard procedural instructions for FASTag affixation to the front windscreen of the allocated vehicle from the inside, in compliance with previously established norms.
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.
According to the National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, the NHAI is responsible for collecting user fees on national highways. Currently, user fees are collected at around 1,000 toll plazas nationwide for about 45,000 km of national roads and motorways.
