As per the government order, January 15 was the last date to comply with the new FASTag rules. Starting today, if you do not have the FASTag affixed on your vehicle's windscreen, you will be penalised. The current deadline has already been extended twice in the past from December 15, 2019, to December 31, 2019, and then finally to the current deadline of January 15, 2020.
What happens if you do not have FASTag
If you do not have an activated FASTag starting today, you will have to pay double the fees at toll plazas across national highways in the country. Also, the government is planning to reduce the normal toll lanes in order to boost the electronic toll collection gates, so there are chances you will have to wait for a considerable amount of time without a FASTag.
The government is also giving sort of a reward to FASTag users in case the new technology does not work at a toll plaza. The official notification from the government says that vehicles are allowed to travel toll-free if FASTag machines installed at toll plaza lanes fail to scan it. Of course, the vehicle should have a valid and functional FASTag with sufficient balance in the linked account and the failure is because of malfunctioning of Electronic Toll Collection infrastructure.
FASTag cost
The FASTag is a small reusable tag that needs to be affixed to a vehicle's windshield. It works on RFID technology to allows instant cashless payments of toll fee. There are multiple offline and online channels that are providing FASTags -- with a one-time joining fee of Rs 100 in addition to a security deposit of Rs 250. You will be required to keep the minimum toll fee balance in your FASTag linked bank account or digital wallet.
How to buy and activate FASTag
You can walk to a bank branch to buy a FASTag, which will be linked to your bank account. You can also buy FASTag at select petrol pumps and Point-of-Sales set up by the banks and the NHAI or order online via Amazon, Paytm, and Airtel Thanks app. The online FASTag needs to be activated using My FASTag app. You will have to enter your vehicle's details, FASTag number, and set up a payment mode of your choice. If you decide to link a wallet to your FASTag account, you will be required to keep the minimum toll fee in it while passing through the electronic toll gate.
