Loose FASTag Users To Blacklisted By NHAI! Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The New Policy News24 –

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is planning to implement strict action against national highway users who opt to carry their fast tag loosely rather than pasting it in the windscreen. The NHAI has further strengthened its policy of immediately reporting and blacklisting loose FASTags. The agency aims to take this step in an attempt to curb Toll fraud and ease congestion at Toll roads. 

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) has reported that the new changes would help the toll operations run more smoothly. The release has also stated that the upcoming initiatives like the annual pass and the multi-lane free-flow tolling to be established successfully. The MORTH wants to ensure seamless service with 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 Has Been Taken 

Keeping the FASTag loose was initially adopted by the users to ensure that the toll charges were not deducted twice, as it happened with commuters when FASTags were first introduced. But over time, the automatic tolling system has improved, and such issues have been curtailed. Hence, the government now seeks to punish drivers who carry loose FASTag to reduce congestion and decrease the average time of a vehicle takes to pass through toll gates.

The new change has been initiated ahead of the annual pass policy being formally established in India. Earlier in June 2025, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the government has decided to introduce FASTag based annual pass to ensure seamless and cost -effective travelling on highways across the nation.

The cost of annual pass would be Rs 3000 and it would be valid for one year from the date of activation or for a maximum of 200 trips.