New Delhi: The FASTag service to digitally pay the toll tax on national highways is now live across the country. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has said made FASTags mandatory from February 15 midnight.
The vehicles trying to cross the toll plazas without it will now have to pay double fee as hybrid lanes have been discontinued.
The National Electronic Toll Collection FASTag, which works with electronic payment systems developed by the National Payments Corporation of India, is a sticker that can be attached to the windshield of your car. The RFID-enabled barcode linked with registration details of your vehicle allows toll amounts to be deducted digitally from your prepaid balance, thereby allowing cars to pass seamlessly without interacting with people at the toll plaza.
You can buy FASTag for your vehicle at certain toll plazas across the country by producing identification and vehicle registration documents. You can also buy it online on portals such as Paytm and Amazon.in or on the websites of certain banks such as HDFC Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, etc.
The cost of buying FASTag will depend on the type of your vehicle and the website you are getting it from. For instance, you can buy FASTag for your car from Paytm for Rs 500, out of which Rs 250 will be your refundable security deposit and Rs 150 will be your wallet balance.
You can recharge your FASTag digital wallet using internet banking, credit or debit cards and UPI. A FASTag is valid for five years from the date of purchase and the recharge amount does not have any extended validity period associated with it.
People who are exempted from paying tolls, like judges, ministers, lawmakers, top bureaucrats and military officers, and emergency service workers, do not need to get FASTag.
