Latest news with #NHFeeRules
Time of India
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Refund or waive user charge when national highway services are below par: Parliamentary Panel to govt
NEW DELHI: Pulling up the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and road transport ministry for collecting toll on highway stretches that are incomplete, under prolonged construction, or marked by serious deficiencies, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has recommended a government-backed framework for refunding or waiving user charges where highway services are below par. In its latest report, the PAC has drawn attention to the Income Tax framework, where government has institutionalised a mechanism to process refunds to taxpayers in case of excess deduction or payment, and has recommended that NHAI and the road transport ministry establish a technology-driven and transparent mechanism for automatic toll refund or waiver in case a highway stretch is 'incomplete, unfit, or unavailable fully or under maintenance for use'. The apex parliamentary panel headed by Congress MP K C Venugopal recommended that the refund system should be 'fully integrated with the electronic toll collection framework (FASTag) and designed to function without the need for user intervention, just as income tax refunds are processed and paid directly to taxpayers'. The committee has referred to sections 7 and 10 of the NH Act, which detail the power of government to levy user fee in consideration of services or benefits rendered on NHs and require NHAI to discharge its functions in accordance with sound business principles, to arrive at its conclusions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Stylish New Mobility Scooters Available for Seniors (Prices May Surprise You) Mobility Scooter | Search Ads Search Now Undo 'The Committee finds it unacceptable that toll continues to be collected even in situations where the essential service — namely, safe, uninterrupted, and timely travel — is not available. This includes highway stretches that are incomplete, under prolonged construction, or marked by serious deficiencies in safety and traffic flow. Continuing to levy toll without delivering the promised level of service violates both the user-pay principle embedded in Section-7 of the NH Act and the norms of fair commercial conduct envisaged under Section-10 of the NHAI Act,' the report said. It also mentioned that the ministry had informed it that toll is presently collected under the NH Fee Rules, 2008, and is explicitly levied for the provision of highway-related services to users. The ministry had also told the PAC that user convenience remains a challenge and that efforts are underway to implement barrierless free-flow tolling systems to enhance service delivery. There have been several instances where courts have directed NHAI to either suspend tolling or reduce charges till highway stretches are back in shape. Questions Perpetual Tolling The panel has also raised questions on toll charges linked to base rates first fixed in 2008 and annually revised, with a 3% annual escalation, irrespective of road quality, traffic volume, or user affordability. It observed that the concept of tolling in perpetuity was first introduced through an amendment to the Fee Rules in 2008, allowing continued collection of user fees even after the recovery of project costs. "This provision was further clarified and codified through the 2023 amendment to the Fee Rules, which explicitly permits tolling to continue beyond the end of the concession period, thereby formalising a regime of perpetual tolling," it said. It said once the concession period of a BOT-toll project is over, the asset is handed over to NHAI, after which it is operated as a publicly funded toll plaza, with toll revenues credited directly to the Consolidated Fund of India. "While toll rates are revised annually through a formula combining a fixed 3% increment with partial indexation to the Wholesale Price Index, the committee find that there is no institutional mechanism to independently evaluate whether toll charges are justified in relation to actual operation and maintenance costs or future service requirements," the panel said. The committee recommended that toll collection on any highway stretch must be rationalised and substantially reduced once capital and routine maintenance costs have been recovered. "Any continuation of tolls beyond this point should be permitted only if clearly justified and approved by the proposed independent oversight authority," it said while urging the ministry to review all existing contracts and publicly funded toll plazas allowing tolling beyond cost recovery in light of these principles to safeguard user interest and uphold the principle of equity in public infrastructure usage. It has recommended establishing a tariff authority, on the lines of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) in the civil aviation sector, to ensure transparency and fairness in toll fixation, collection, and regulation.
The Print
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Print
Govt reduces toll charges by up to 50 pc on national highways with bridges, tunnels
'The rate of fee for use of a section of national highway comprising of structure or structures shall be calculated by adding ten times the length of structure or structures to the length of the section of national highway excluding the length of structure or structures, or five times the total length of section of national highway, whichever is lesser,' said the notification dated July 2, 2025. User charges at fee plazas on National Highways are collected as per NH Fee Rules, 2008. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made amendment to 2008 rules and notified a new method or formula for calculating toll charges. New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) The government has reduced the toll rates up to 50 per cent for the sections of National Highways that have structures like tunnels, bridges, flyovers or elevated stretches, a move which will lower travelling cost for motorists. 'Structure' means an independent bridge, tunnel or flyover or elevated highway. To explain the new toll charges, the ministry has cited examples. In one of the examples, it said that if a section of a national highway has a total length of 40 kilometers, comprising of structure alone, the minimum length shall be computed: '10 x 40 (ten times length of structure) = 400 kilometers or five times the total length of section of a national highway = 5 x 40 = 200 kilometers'. 'User fee shall be calculated on the lesser length i.e. for 200 kilometers' and not 400 kilometers. In this case the user charge is only on half (50 per cent) of the road length. According the extant rules, users pay ten times the regular toll for every kilometre of structure on national highways. A senior official of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) said the existing toll calculation method was meant to offset higher construction cost associated with such infrastructure. The revised notfication issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reduces the toll rate for stretches such as flyovers, underpasses and tunnels up to 50 per cent, the official said. PTI BKS NKD HVA This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Government reduces toll charges by up to 50% on national highways with bridges, tunnels
The government has reduced the toll rates up to 50% for the sections of National Highways that have structures like tunnels, bridges, flyovers or elevated stretches, a move which will lower travelling cost for motorists. User charges at fee plazas on National Highways are collected as per NH Fee Rules, 2008. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made amendment to 2008 rules and notified a new method or formula for calculating toll charges. 'The rate of fee for use of a section of national highway comprising of structure or structures shall be calculated by adding ten times the length of structure or structures to the length of the section of national highway excluding the length of structure or structures, or five times the total length of section of national highway, whichever is lesser,' said the notification dated July 2, 2025. 'Structure' means an independent bridge, tunnel or flyover or elevated highway. To explain the new toll charges, the ministry has cited examples. In one of the examples, it said that if a section of a national highway has a total length of 40km, comprising of structure alone, the minimum length shall be computed: '10 x 40 (ten times length of structure) = 400km or five times the total length of section of a national highway = 5 x 40 = 200km'. 'User fee shall be calculated on the lesser length i.e. for 200km' and not 400km. In this case, the user charge is only on half (50%) of the road length. According to the extant rules, users pay ten times the regular toll for every km of structure on national highways. A senior official of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) said the existing toll calculation method was meant to offset higher construction cost associated with such infrastructure. 'The revised notification issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reduces the toll rate for stretches such as flyovers, underpasses and tunnels up to 50%,' the official said.
Time of India
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Toll rates on national highways with bridges, tunnels cut by up to 50 pc
The government has reduced toll rates by up to 50 per cent for sections of National Highways that have tunnels, bridges, flyovers elevated stretches. The move is set to lower travelling cost for motorists. Currently, user charges at toll fee plazas are collected as per NH Fee Rules, 2008. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made amendment to 2008 rules and notified a new method or formula for calculating toll charges. "The rate of fee for use of a section of national highway comprising of structure or structures shall be calculated by adding ten times the length of structure or structures to the length of the section of national highway excluding the length of structure or structures, or five times the total length of section of national highway, whichever is lesser," said the notification dated July 2, 2025. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo 'Structure' here means an independent bridge, tunnel or flyover or elevated highway. The ministry gave examples for easier understanding. Live Events In one of the examples, it said that if a section of a national highway has a total length of 40 kilometers, comprising of structure alone, the minimum length shall be computed: '10 x 40 (ten times length of structure) = 400 kilometers or five times the total length of section of a national highway = 5 x 40 = 200 kilometers'. "User fee shall be calculated on the lesser length i.e. for 200 kilometers" and not 400 kilometers. In this case the user charge is only on half (50 per cent) of the road length. According the existing rules, users pay ten times the regular toll for every kilometre of structure on national highways. A senior official of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) said the existing toll calculation method was meant to offset higher construction cost associated with such infrastructure.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
Govt cuts toll by up to 50% on national highways with bridges, tunnels
The government has reduced the toll rates up to 50 per cent for the sections of National Highways that have structures like tunnels, bridges, flyovers or elevated stretches, a move which will lower travelling cost for motorists. User charges at fee plazas on National Highways are collected as per NH Fee Rules, 2008. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made amendment to 2008 rules and notified a new method or formula for calculating toll charges. "The rate of fee for use of a section of national highway comprising of structure or structures shall be calculated by adding ten times the length of structure or structures to the length of the section of national highway excluding the length of structure or structures, or five times the total length of section of national highway, whichever is lesser," said the notification dated July 2, 2025. 'Structure' means an independent bridge, tunnel or flyover or elevated highway. To explain the new toll charges, the ministry has cited examples. In one of the examples, it said that if a section of a national highway has a total length of 40 kilometers, comprising of structure alone, the minimum length shall be computed: '10 x 40 (ten times length of structure) = 400 kilometers or five times the total length of section of a national highway = 5 x 40 = 200 kilometers'. "User fee shall be calculated on the lesser length i.e. for 200 kilometers" and not 400 kilometers. In this case the user charge is only on half (50 per cent) of the road length. According the extant rules, users pay ten times the regular toll for every kilometre of structure on national highways. A senior official of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) said the existing toll calculation method was meant to offset higher construction cost associated with such infrastructure. The revised notfication issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reduces the toll rate for stretches such as flyovers, underpasses and tunnels up to 50 per cent, the official said.
