Cash Payments for Toll to End on April 10, Tighter Restrictions on Toll-Exempt Vehicles Likely

The National Highways Authority of India, under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has officially decided to end cash collection at all toll plazas across the country, effective April 10 this year, via a government gazette notification. As per previous announcements, vehicles attempting to pass through a toll collection point without a valid FASTag or without sufficient funds in their FASTag wallet, now only have the option to pay using UPI which will incur a 25 percent surcharge. 

Failing that, they will receive an e-challan based on their vehicle registration data, and will have to settle the payment online. Users will have a 72-hour grace period during which no additional fee will be charged, but double toll will be charged after that. If the user has not settled pending dues within 15 days, the vehicle will be flagged in the government’s central Vahan database, which might result in unspecified “restrictions”.

The new compliance initiative aims to reduce waiting at toll plazas, which can cause traffic to back up. The Ministry has also said that its moves to reduce and eventually end cash dependence will improve transparency and efficiency at toll collection points, also potentially ending arguments that further lead to blocked lanes.

The move is also a step towards the ministry’s goal of introducing no-stop toll collection points, with fully automatic license plate recognition and fee payment to completely eliminate choke points on highways. The government has also discussed a satellite-based automatic toll collection system that would replace flat fees with individual trip-based billing for exact distances covered.

Separately, the ministry has said it will end the practice of allowing vehicles to pass through toll plazas claiming exemption based on a driver or occupant’s personal identification card. Exemption is intended for vehicles functioning in notified official capacities, not the individuals themselves, and can currently be misused by people passing through toll collection points in their personal vehicles, demanding the entitlement. To combat this, the ministry is proposing a new class of “exempted” FASTags which will be recognised automatically, allowing only the vehicles they are affixed to to pass.