The FASTag will become mandatory for all vehicles, private and commercial, from Sunday, December 15. Cars passing through toll without FASTags will attract double toll charges.
The government on November 29 announced extending the date to December 15 for making FASTag mandatory for toll payments on national highways. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had earlier announced that from December 1, toll payments on highways would be accepted through FASTags only.
"To facilitate sufficient lead time to citizens to obtain FASTag, it has now been decided that all the lanes in the Fee plazas shall be declared as 'FASTag lane of Fee Plaza' by December 15, 2019," a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways communication said.
FASTags are for toll collection that allow automatic payment deduction from the FASTag, they are normally affixed on the windscreen of your vehicle.
So how to buy FaSTags?
FASTags are issued by 22 certified banks through various channels such as Point-of-Sale (POS) at National Highway toll plazas and select bank branches. They are also available on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon. The RFID tag is available via PayTM and a lot of banks including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, AXIS Bank, SBI and more.
What are the charges for FASTag?
FASTag issued by certified banks can charge maximum of Rs 100 for each tag, which is fixed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). However, the actual tag issuing charges are defined by the bank and may vary from bank to bank.
How to recharge FASTag
FASTag sticker can be recharged online via various portals. The RFID tag, if purchased from PayTM, can easily be topped up using the PayTM app. You only need to ensure that your FASTag-linked bank account has sufficient balance to allow for toll payments.
