FASTag has become an integral part of vehicles commuting on national highways across India. It is a passive RFID tag that enables automatic toll payments directly from a customer's linked prepaid, savings, or current account. Using RFID technology, FASTag communicates with scanners installed at toll plazas, allowing the toll amount to be deducted automatically as the vehicle passes through. An SMS notification is sent to the user for every transaction, ensuring transparency while enabling seamless, non-stop, and cashless travel. Here are five key things about FASTag that may have gone unnoticed.
Annual Pass Charges Get Dearer:
NHAI has increased the rate of its annual pass by Rs 75 to Rs 3,075 for the next 2026-27 financial year. The FASTag Annual Pass eliminates the need to frequently recharge FASTag through a one-time fee payment for one-year validity or 200 toll plaza crossings. The pass is applicable for all non-commercial vehicles with a valid FASTag.
The annual pass gets activated within two hours on the existing FASTag linked to the vehicle after payment of the one-time fee through the Rajmarg Yatra App or the National Highways Authority of India website.
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Double Fee For Loose FASTags:
To discourage National Highway users from deliberately failing to affix FASTag on the vehicle's windscreen, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) levies a double user fee on vehicles entering toll lanes without a FASTag properly affixed on the inside of the front windshield. According to NHAI, intentional non-affixation of FASTag results in avoidable delays at toll plazas, causing inconvenience to other road users.
During Construction, Users To Pay Half The Toll:
Repairs and upgrades on national highways may cause temporary inconvenience. To address this, the MoRTH says that when a road is upgraded from two lanes with paved shoulders to four, six, or more lanes, users are required to pay only 50 per cent of the earlier toll until the construction is completed. For example, if the toll rate on a National Highway under multi-lane expansion is Rs 50, users will pay Rs 25 during the construction period.
Without FASTag, 1.25x For UPI Payments:
Vehicles entering a fee plaza without a valid, functional FASTag are charged twice the applicable user fee, if the fee payment is made in cash. Whereas users who opt to pay via UPI are charged only 1.25 times the fee for the applicable vehicle category.
Grievance Channels:
To address the grievances, the pass users can dial the 1033 helpline. Rajmargyatra serves as a digital travel companion, offering a wealth of information such as details about highways, toll plazas, nearby amenities, including petrol pumps, hospitals, EV charging stations, and even live weather updates.