Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday announced that FASTag will be mandatory for vehicles from January 1, 2021.
What is FASTag? – FASTag facilitates electronic payment of fees at toll plazas. It was introduced in 2016.
The mandatory marking of the tags would also help vehicles drive seamlessly through the toll booths as toll payment would be electronic and fast to collect.
“Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announces that FASTag is being made mandatory for all vehicles in country from 1st Jan, 2021. He says it’s useful for commuters as they will not need to stop at toll plazas for cash payments, saving time & fuel: Ministry of Road Transport & Highways”, tweeted ANI.
For National Permit vehicles, the fitment of FASTag was mandated since October 1, 2019. A valid FASTag would be made compulsory for getting a new third party insurance. This would come into force from 1 April, 2021.
The ministry said that steps for ensuring availability of FASTag through multiple channels are being taken. They would be available at physical locations as well as online.
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued a notification in November this year making FASTag mandatory by January 1, 2021, in old vehicles also sold before December 1, 2017, through amendments in CMVR, 1989.
As per Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, since December 1, 2017, the FASTag had been made mandatory for all registration of new four-wheeled vehicles and is being supplied by the vehicle manufacturer or their dealers.
It had further been mandated that the renewal of fitness certificate will be done only after the fitment of FASTag for the Transport Vehicles. For National Permit Vehicles, the fitment of FASTag was mandated since 1st October 2019.
The National Toll Collection (NETC) programme has been implemented on a pan-India basis in order to remove bottlenecks and ensure seamless movement of traffic and collection of user fee as per the notified rates using passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
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