The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) announced on Monday (January 15) that FASTags with valid balances but incomplete KYC will be deactivated by banks after January 31, 2024.
‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ program
In a bid to enhance the efficiency of the electronic toll collection system and facilitate seamless movement at toll plazas, NHAI has initiated the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ program, discouraging the use of a single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle.
NHAI encourages FASTag users to complete the ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) process for their latest FASTag, aligning with RBI guidelines. To prevent inconvenience, users must ensure KYC completion for their latest FASTag and discard all previously issued FASTags through their respective banks.
FASTags with incomplete KYC to be deactivated
The initiative aims to deactivate or blacklist previous tags after January 31, 2024. “Only the latest FASTag account shall remain active as previous tags will be deactivated/blacklisted after 31st January 2024,” the statement said.
For assistance or queries, FASTag users can contact the nearest toll plazas or the toll-free customer care number of their respective issuer banks. NHAI introduced this measure in response to reports of multiple FASTags being issued for a single vehicle and FASTags being issued without KYC, violating RBI mandates.
Furthermore, deliberate instances occur where FASTags are intentionally not affixed to the vehicle’s windscreen, leading to avoidable delays at toll plazas and causing inconvenience to other users of the national highway.
Ensuring seamless and comfortable journeys
The ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative, coupled with the high penetration rate of FASTag at around 98% and over 8 crore users, is poised to streamline toll operations, ensuring efficient and comfortable journeys on national highways.
FASTag serves as an electronic toll collection system in India, administered by the NHAI. Utilising Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, it facilitates toll payments directly from the linked prepaid or savings account or directly from the toll owner.