Govt clarifies new FASTag rules: Users can recharge any time before reaching national highway toll plaza

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways on Wednesday clarified that the recent circular issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) regarding FASTag transactions will not affect customer experience at toll plazas.

The ministry, in a statement, said that the circular dated January 28, 2025, aims to streamline dispute resolution between acquiring and issuing banks on FASTag status at toll plazas.

The directive ensures that FASTag transactions are processed within a reasonable time after a vehicle passes through a toll plaza to avoid any inconvenience to users, it added.

Dismissing reports suggesting that FASTag transactions would be declined if the tag was inactive for more than 60 minutes before the toll read time or up to 10 minutes after, the ministry clarified that all national highway toll plazas operate on ICD 2.5 protocol, which provides real-time tag status.

Hence, users can recharge their FASTags at any time before reaching the toll plaza.

However, it acknowledged that some toll plazas on state highways still use the older ICD 2.4 protocol, which requires periodic updates to tag status.

“It is being planned to shift all such Toll plazas to ICD 2.5 protocol, shortly,” a government release said.

The ministry also encouraged FASTag users to link their wallets to UPI, current, or savings accounts with an auto-recharge facility to avoid manual recharges. Users can continue to recharge their FASTags before reaching the toll plaza through various payment modes, including UPI and net banking, it said.

FASTag, India’s electronic toll collection system, facilitates seamless toll payments through linked prepaid or bank accounts, reducing congestion at toll booths.