Is FASTag online made mandatory for all vehicles by MORTH INDIA?

FASTag is the electronic toll collection system involved by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, Government of India declared that FASTags will become mandatory for all private as well as commercial vehicles effectively from December 1, 2019. Nitin Gadkari, the Road Transport and Highways Minister have announced that vehicles without FASTags will now have to pay twice the normal rate at toll gates across the country.

What are FASTags?

FASTags are prepaid rechargeable tags for toll collection. These tags allow automatic payment deduction. They are normally affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle. With the help of this FASTag, you don’t have to stop your vehicles at the toll plazas, instead the toll-free will directly get deducted from the bank account of the vehicle’s owner. An activated FASTag works on Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) technology. FASTags do not have an expiry date. They can be used as long as they are readable at the toll plaza.

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FASTags are issued by 22 certified banks through several channels such as Point-of-Sale (POS) at the National Highway toll plaza and selected bank branches. They are also available on online platforms like Amazon. You can also visit the certified bank branch for the activation of the FASTag.

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Cost of activation and recharge updates

FASTags issued by the certified banks can charge a maximum of ₹ 100 for each tag. This amount is fixed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). However, the actual charges may differ from bank to bank. If the FASTag is already linked with your bank account, then there is no need to load money separately in a prepaid wallet. You only need to ensure that your FASTag-linked bank account has sufficient balance to allow for toll payments. However, if you have linked the FASTag to a prepaid wallet (NHAI prepaid wallet), then it can be recharged through various channels such as payment through cheque or through UPI/debit card/ credit card/ NEFT/ Net Banking. Also, additional charges will be levied while recharging the FASTags account with different channels. A single FASTag cannot be used for two vehicles.

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The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will also provide FASTags free of cost from November 22 to December 1 at toll plazas. This will encourage the vehicle owners to get it installed. RTO offices and other transport hubs will also have these FASTags.

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