UPI payments accepted; toll amount to be 1.25 times the regular charges

New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has announced that cash payments at Toll Plazas will be discontinued from Apr. 10 in an effort to reduce long queues of vehicles at toll gates, a major irritant for commuters.

In a move aimed at ending the practice of motorists flashing identity cards at Toll Booths to claim user fee exemptions on National Highways and Expressways, the Ministry has asked Government Departments and institutions to obtain ‘Exempted FASTags’ for eligible vehicles or purchase a FASTag annual pass.

Officials said the initiative is intended to streamline toll collection and avoid disputes at Toll Plazas. “The exemption from paying toll is linked to an authority or an office, not to an individual. However, people often show identity cards to avoid paying toll even when they are travelling in personal vehicles, which leads to arguments at Toll Booths,” an official said.

The annual FASTag pass for private cars costs Rs. 3,075 and allows vehicles to cross up to 200 Toll Plazas. Meanwhile, the Ministry issued a notification stating that cash transactions for toll payments will not be permitted from Apr. 10.

UPI payments

Under the new system, toll payments will be accepted only through FASTag or Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Vehicles without valid FASTags will receive e-notices for unpaid toll charges. If a vehicle owner chooses to pay through UPI without a FASTag, the toll amount will be 1.25 times the regular fee.

The Highway authority may also issue an e-notice for pending toll charges and failure to clear the dues within three days will attract double the toll amount.

Additionally, vehicles without valid payment may be denied entry or removed from the Highway section, as per Rule 14 of the National Highway Fee Rules.

Officials added that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is preparing to introduce multi-lane free-flow tolling across the highway network, making FASTag adoption essential.