FASTag, an online payment method to be used at toll plazas, is soon going to be implemented across India. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) issued a notice and announced FASTag registration is mandatory for four wheelers across India.
The initiative was taken to reduce traffic congestion by eliminating manual toll tax payments at toll plazas, which are time consuming. However, with the FASTag system, vehicle owners would not have to wait and pay the toll tax at plazas. Moreover, it would also lessen the work of the workers at the plazas.
FASTag is a prepaid rechargeable tag which would help vehicles cross toll plazas without making a payment manually. The moment vehicles cross the toll plaza, the tax would be deducted from their linked account.
The National Highways Authority of India, in collaboration with 20 nationalised and private banks, put in place the FASTag system.
FASTag is a device affixed on the windscreen of the car and works using radio frequency identification (RFID.) Cars registered with FASTag need not wait for their turn at toll plazas as the moment the car enters the plaza, a FASTag reader would detect the registered car and cut the toll tax automatically.
This is an initiative of the Union Government for cashless toll payments across India. The NHAI also directed private banks like ICICI, HDFC and Axis Bank to carry out the registration free of cost till the 1st of December.
The registration started from the 22nd of November and would continue till the 1st of December. After the 1st of December, vehicle owners need to pay a specific amount to get his/her FASTag registration done.
More than 5,000 people in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, completed their registration in the past 10 days.
Speaking about the registration process, applicants can register their vehicle numbers online or manually at toll plaza offices or banks. All one needs to do is submit a photocopy of their aadhaar card, PAN card, registration certificate of the vehicle and one passport size photo of the vehicle owner. After registering the vehicle, the owner needs to open a FASTag payment account in a bank and maintain a specific balance for paying the toll tax. The number would be linked to toll gates across India and the toll fee would automatically be deducted as the vehicle gets close to the plaza.
The new FASTag toll deduction would begin from the 1st December 2019 and is a mandatory process. If anyone fails to register their cars and get a FASTag account by the 1st of December, the toll tax they would have to pay would be double the actual amount.
Stay tuned for further updates.
