To ensure payment of user fee via electronic means and seamless movement of vehicles through toll plazas, FASTag has been made mandatory for four-wheelers from January 1, 2021.
With this decision of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), those owning four-wheelers purchased before December 1, 2017 will have to compulsorily procure FASTag. The Ministry has notified that all four-wheelers, regardless of the year of manufacture and age, should mandatorily have it.
As per Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, FASTag is mandatory for registration of new four-wheelers since December 1, 2017 and is being supplied by vehicle manufacturers/dealers.
The notification making it mandatory for all four-wheelers comes in the wake of the reluctance of owners to go for the electronic means to pay toll charges. The compulsory implementation of FASTags at highway toll plazas last year, with all but one lane dedicated to electronic toll collection, also failed to yield the desired result.
To ensure compliance, MoRTH has made FASTags mandatory for vehicle insurance. New third-party vehicle insurance from April 1, 2021 will be issued only if the vehicle has a valid FASTag. Henceforth, while seeking a new third-party insurance, details of FASTag ID shall be captured on Form 51 (certificate of insurance).
As in the previous drive, MoRTH has decided to make available FASTag at multiple channels in the coming days. Banks and online mechanisms are expected to make them available so that owners can purchase and affix them on their vehicles.
The National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) programme, the flagship initiative of MoRTH, uses passive radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for collection of user fee. FASTag, a prepaid tag, enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets the vehicle pass through the toll plaza without stopping for the cash transaction.