The Government of India has announced that the FASTag digitized toll paying system will become mandatory for all four-wheelers across India from Dec 1, 2019. As a result, Toll Payments will only be accepted from FASTag tags from the said date. This decision has been taken to minimise wait times on toll booths across all National Highways in the country.
With this announcement, there are a few questions that have cropped up in the minds of car owners. Where to buy FASTag? How does it work? What will happen if I don’t have a FASTag on my car after Dec 1?
We have gathered the most frequently asked questions about FASTag and tried to answer them below.
Q. What is FASTag?
FASTag is a Digitized Electronic Toll Collection system that works on Radio Frequency technology. It includes a tag that has to be installed on the front windshield of your car. In order to read this tag, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has installed scanning devices on all toll booths across the country. Each FASTag has a digital wallet that the car owner needs to recharge in order to make toll payments. When a car passes through the Toll booth, these scanners scan the tag and deduct the toll charges automatically for the car. After each deduction, the car owner gets a text message (SMS) mentioning the toll name and charges on the phone number connected to the FASTag.
Q. Where can I get a FASTag sticker?
For all cars that have been sold after the year 2017, there’s a pre-installed FASTag sticker on the front windshield. Owners of such cars just need to activate this tag by recharging it through online portals like PayTM or Google Pay.
Meanwhile, for older cars, the FASTag can be purchased from some select toll booths that have a Point of Sale (POS). Additionally, some public and private sector banks have partnered with NHAI to distribute FASTag stickers to car owners. At the moment, FASTag can be bought at branches of ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, IFDC Bank, Syndicate Bank, and Axis Bank. FASTag is also available for online purchase on Paytm.
Do note that the following documents are required to purchase a FASTag:
- Vehicle’s registration certificate (RC)
- Vehicle owner’s recent passport size photograph
- KYC documents (Driving license, PAN Card, Passport, Voter ID Card or Aadhar Card)
Q. How to recharge a FASTag?
FASTag can be recharged either through online portals like Paytm and Google Pay, or through the websites / apps of the Banks that have issued it. Do note that the FASTag is connected to an online wallet that needs to have the required balance in order for the payment to be processed successfully on toll plazas.
Q. What will happen if I don’t have FASTag on my car after Dec 1, 2019?
As per Government orders, if a vehicle doesn’t have FASTag after Dec 1, it will be charged a penalty for paying in cash for the toll. As a result, car owners without the FASTag will need to pay double the amount chargeable for a toll booth. It is thus important that you get a FASTag for your car at the earliest.
Do you have any other questions related to FASTag? Post them in the comments section below and we will get back to you.