Loose FASTag users to be blacklisted by NHAI, no more ‘tag-in-hand' at toll plazas. Know more
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is ready to take strict action against the national highway users who don't paste the FASTag stickers on the designated spot on the car windshield. The NHAI has further strengthened its policy of immediately reporting and blacklisting of loose FASTags, which is a practice commonly known as 'tag-in-hand'. The agency aims to take this step in an attempt to curb toll fraud and ease congestion at toll plazas.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in an official statement has said that this move will make the toll operations further smooth. The release also stated that in view of upcoming initiatives like the Annual Pass System and Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) tolling, it is critical to address this issue to ensure FASTag authenticity and system reliability. With the move, the authority has further streamlined its policy for the toll collecting agencies and concessionaires to immediately report loose FASTags. Why this step?
FASTags are sometimes deliberately not fixed on the windscreen of the vehicle by the owners. Such practices often pose operational challenges leading to lane congestion, generation of false chargebacks, misuse in closed-loop tolling systems, causing overall disruption of the electronic toll collection framework, resulting in unnecessary delays at toll plazas and inconvenience to other national highway users, the release highlighted.
To ensure timely corrective measures, NHAI has provided a dedicated email address and has directed the toll collection agencies and concessionaires to immediately report such loose FASTags. Based on the reports received, NHAI will take immediate action to initiate blacklisting or hotlisting of the reported FASTags.
Currently, more than 98 per cent of the total vehicular population using the national highways across India use FASTag for paying toll charges. This system has revolutionised the electronic toll collection system in India. However, the loose FASTags or tag-in-hand pose a challenge to the efficiency of electronic toll collection operations. Move comes ahead of Annual Pass launch
The move comes ahead of the launch of the Annual Pass for FASTag users. Earlier in June 2025, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the government has decided to introduce a FASTag-based annual pass to ensure seamless and cost-effective travel across the country's national highways.
The FASTag-based Annual Pass will be priced at ₹ 3000 and valid for one year from the date of activation or for a maximum of 200 trips. It will be launched on Independence Day this year.
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First Published Date: 13 Jul 2025, 09:01 am IST
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