Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry on Sunday announced that all lanes in the fee plazas on the National Highways shall be declared as ‘FASTag lane of the fee plaza’ with effect from the midnight of 15-16 February, informed an official statement.
The statement added, “Any vehicle not fitted with FASTag or vehicles without valid, functional FASTag entering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza shall pay a fee equivalent to two times of the fee applicable to that category.”
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has made it clear that the deadline for implementation would not be extended further, and the vehicle owners should immediately adopt the e-payment facility. “The government had extended the registration date limit two-three times before and it would not be extended further. Now, everybody should immediately buy FASTags,” he said on Sunday.
FASTag uses radio-frequency identification (RFID), which enables automatic deduction of toll charges at NHAI toll plazas. The tag must be linked with the motorists’ adequately funded prepaid or savings or current account. After the tag account gets active, the motorists can affix the tag on the windscreen of their vehicles.
Documents required to buy FASTag
In order to purchase, an applicant will need to furnish the vehicle registration document and personal identity for mandatory KYC process. Whereas, at banks, if you are already a customer, you will only need an RC report. If you are applying through other means such as Airtel and PayTM, you don’t need to produce a personal ID and all you need is the RC.
The government has partnered with several agencies including banks and e-commerce channels to home-deliver the Tag. As of now, banks that currently offer FASTags include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda to name a few. Recently, ICICI Bank and Google announced a collaboration, which would allow applicants to pay via its payment service Google Pay. Some other options also are on Amazon, PayTM or Airtel Payment App.
Earlier, the Ministry had clarified that this was done to promote fee payment through digital mode, reduce waiting time and fuel consumption, and provide a seamless passage through the fee plazas.
The Ministry had mandated fitment of FASTag in M and N categories of motor vehicles with effect from January 1. Category ‘M’ stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying passengers. And Category ‘N’ stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying goods, which may also carry persons in addition to goods. FASTag, a simple to use, reloadable tag, which enables automatic deduction of toll plaza charges and lets you pass through without stopping for any cash transaction, has a one-time fee of ₹200, a Reissuance fee of ₹100, and a refundable security deposit of ₹200.
