Fastag will now be mandatory from February 16, government extended deadline
The government has extended the 100 percent toll collection deadline through fastag on the national highway. For this, the new deadline has been kept on 15 February 2021. This means that from February 16, the fastag will be necessary for all vehicles passing through the highway. Earlier, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) announced the complete elimination of payment of toll tax in cash from January 1, 2021.
The reason for deciding to extend the time limit for making the fastag mandatory
Actually, a large number of people still pay toll charges in cash. At present, the share of transactions through cash in total toll collection is about 75-78 percent.
The Ministry of Road Transport has written a letter to NHAI about this. It states that it can meet the regulatory requirements for 100% cashless fee collection by 15 February.
In order to discourage cash transactions at toll plazas, all lines except one were made ‘fastag lane’. Vehicles passing through these are charged double the normal toll fees. This has to be done from January 1 for large vehicles.
The government had been working on the proposal to end the cash transaction for the last few months. In view of this, from January 1, it had announced to make the fastag required for all new and old vehicles.
What is fastag?
Through Fastag, you are able to pay toll tax cashless at the toll plaza. It is a type of tag or chip that is applied to the windscreen of a car. It uses radio frequency identification. As your vehicle approaches the toll plaza, the sensor on the toll plaza tracks the fastag on the windscreen of your vehicle. After this, the fee levied on that toll plaza is deducted from your Fastag account. In this way, you are able to pay the fee without stopping at the toll plaza.
