Soon, it will not be possible to not pay toll fee for a long time after using a tolled highway section due to a faulty or blacklisted Fastag.
Soon, it will not be possible to not pay toll fee for a long time after using a tolled highway section due to a faulty or blacklisted FASTag. Such non-payment of toll fee will be visible on the Vahan portal and app, as is the case with traffic challan dues.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has requested the Ministry of Road Transport to make changes in the Vahan collection system of registered vehicles so that dues of toll can be collected from vehicles without FASTag or with faulty/blacklisted tags. It has also proposed to add a section – ‘Unpaid User Fee Dues’ – in the Vahan portal to display the dues.
The NHAI said that the dues and the photograph of the vehicle as evidence will be displayed when the vehicle owner logs in to the Vahan portal.
According to the NHAI proposal, such vehicle owners will not be allowed to transfer registration or obtain NOC and fitness certificate without paying the dues. Vehicle owners will have the option to pay the dues within seven days or object to the notice.
The proposal has been sent to the ministry as the NHAI has started adopting a free-flow system of tolling on some stretches. It will be expanded before the satellite-based tolling system is fully implemented.
In the satellite-based system, vehicles are allowed to move smoothly without the need for toll booths or barriers. It uses cameras, sensors and number plate recognition to automatically identify vehicles and collect toll.
The NHAI has proposed that when a vehicle passes through a toll plaza without a FASTag or a blacklisted one, its control room will generate a notice and send it to the VAHAN portal.
“Later, more options like linking it to insurance renewal may be considered to ensure that no one can manipulate the system,” an official said.
