New Delhi, February 14: The Road and Transport Ministry on Sunday said that any vehicle passing through tolls at National Highways have to pay double the toll if they don't have valid FASTag. The rule will come into force from the midnight of February 15-16. The move will enable contactless as well as electronic payments for payments at a toll plaza. Mumbai FASTag Fraud: Fraudsters Siphoned Off Rs 20 Crore With 4,300 Fake Refund.

"It has been decided that all the lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as 'FASTag lane of the fee plaza' w.e.f. Midnight of 15th /16th February 2021," reported The Times of India quoting the ministry as saying in its order. The government had earlier delayed the date to make FASTags mandatory by almost one and half months from January 1 to February 15, 2021.

The Transport Ministry, in its order, clarified that any vehicle which enters he "FASTag lane" of the fee plaza should have "FasTag" fitted to it. If it enters the lane with no FasTag or without valid, functional "FASTag", then the motorist has to double the toll. FASTag Users Will Not Have To Maintain Minimum Amount in FASTag Wallet, Says NHAI.

Since December 1, 2017, the FASTag has been made mandatory for all registration of new four-wheeled vehicles and is being supplied by the manufacturers or dealers. It has been further mandated that a valid FASTag is mandatory while getting a new 3rd Party Insurance.

Notably, FASTags are issued by 22 certified banks through Point-of-Sale (PoS) at National Highway toll plazas. These are also issued at selected branches of the banks, including ICICI, HDFC, Kotak. FASTags are also available on e-commerce platforms, like Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm Mall. The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) fixed Rs 100 for each FASTag.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 14, 2021 05:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).