‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ rule is here; all extra tags will be deactivated

Bengaluru: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has rolled out the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ scheme across Karnataka. 

The scheme came into effect at all the 54 toll plazas in the state on Monday, a senior NHAI official said. 

The NHAI announced the scheme in January to discourage drivers from using one FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle. The initial deadline was January 31, which was extended by two months given the Paytm FASTag issues. Through the initiative, the agency hopes to improve the efficiency of the electronic toll collection system and provide seamless movement at toll plazas. 

Vilas P Brahmankar, the NHAI’s Regional Officer in Bengaluru, said the rule would prevent the misuse of FASTag by heavy vehicle drivers. 

He said many truck drivers were found using cars’ FASTag to save on toll charges. “A truck will pay way too little if it uses a car’s FASTag,” he told DH. 

As per the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, vehicles are charged different toll rates based on size, load and usage (commercial/personal). A truck pays over three times more toll than a car. Heavier vehicles, such as those with multiple axles, pay even more. 

FASTag is a device that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to pay toll charges without stopping the vehicle. It is affixed to the windscreen and enables a customer to pay the toll from the linked bank account. 

According to the Indian Highway Management Company Limited (IHMCL), FASTag is operational at more than 750 toll plazas in the country, including all national highway toll plazas and over 100 state highway toll plazas. 

FASTag has a penetration of 95% and a three-tier system of operation. At the first level is the acquirer or merchant bank that deals with toll plaza authorities. At the second level, the payments are sent to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The IHMCL acts as the overall implementing agency. 

Cut-off box - The new rule
A vehicle owner can now use only one active FASTag for one vehicle. 
All FASTags linked to a single vehicle except the latest one will be de-activated. A blacklisted FAStag cannot be used to pay toll charges at a toll plaza. 
A FASTag may be blocked for insufficient balance. The issuer bank may blacklist it for vehicle–FASTag class mismatch non-affixation to the windscreen and carrying in hand. 
To check if your vehicle is linked to multiple FASTags visit https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/netc-fastag/check-your-netc-fastag-status enter your vehicle details and click ‘Submit’. The pop-up window will show the status of all FASTags linked to your vehicle number. 
Users cannot acquire multiple FASTags for a single vehicle but will be free to recharge their FASTag from any bank and different payment methods such as Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) UPI internet banking etc.