Pay double charges if FASTag not stuck on front windshield

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has announced a penalty for not sticking FASTag to the front windshield of vehicles. In case of default, the drivers will have to pay double charges, besides standing the risk of being blacklisted.

To prevent drivers from carrying FASTag in their wallets or hands during travelling and deliberately avoiding paying toll has been seen on some highways. Consequently, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has mandated a double fee for users who do not affix FASTag on the front windshield from the inside.

Such defaulters can be also be duly blacklisted, it added.

“Deliberate non-affixation of FASTag on the windscreen leads to unnecessary delays at the toll plazas causing inconvenience to the fellow National Highway users,” NHAI said in a statement.

Further, NHAI said that the information will also be prominently displayed at all toll plazas, informing highway users about the penalties for non-compliance of entering a toll lane without a fixed FASTag on front windshield.

However, immediate implementation of such a rule has resulted in long queues at toll plazas as many are still not aware of this rule, resulting in arguments and delays.

In addition, CCTV footage with Vehicle Registration Number (VRN) at the toll plaza shall be recorded 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, it added

NHAI collects user fee 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 on National Highways across the country.