What Is Fastag And How To Get It?

Posted by Arjit Chalmela on March 27th, 2020

With the introduction of Fastag, the queues at toll booths have reduced significantly. After the nationwide rollout from January 15, time at toll booths has come down significantly because people directly get the tag screened and proceed. This technology is in use in foreign countries but is now being introduced in India on national highways. At present, if any vehicle owner does not have a tag, the NHAI can charge double toll.

What is fastag?

Fastag is an electronic tag that must be attached on the car’s windshield. There will be electronic sensors at toll plazas that will scan the tag using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. The toll will electronically be debited from the linked account without the car needing to stop at the toll booth. The purpose is to ensure seamless electronic collection of toll and free up congestion at the toll booths.

These tags were introduced in the year 2014, but they are being mandatorily rolled out in all toll booths from January 15, 2020. At present, more than 5,000 toll nakas all over the country have this technology enabled. Vehicles that will not have the Fastag and want to pay in cash will have to pay double the amount of toll from December 15.

How does it work?

The vehicle owner must affix the tag on the vehicle windshield. The toll booth employees will either manually scan it or use an overhead scanner to scan the details. The toll for the vehicle type will automatically get debited. The vehicle owner will have to link a bank account to the Fastag account. It works like a prepaid card where the balance keeps reducing every time it is scanned.

How to apply for Fastag?

From the year 2017, all new cars sold had to be given the tag. Apart from this, it can be applied for in a regional RTO, a bank or from online companies. To apply for this, you will need a copy of vehicle registration and standard KYC documents. You can also buy them directly from banks through their websites.

It’s very important to understand how to get fastag. This can help you acquire one with minimum hassles.

How to recharge Fastag?

Money can be loaded through the MyFastag app that can be downloaded. The recharge can be done by creating a wallet in the app or by linking the bank account to the app. It is also possible to recharge the online wallet using BHIM UPI app which reduces the hassles with recharge. 

As per RBI guidelines, if customers do not do the KYC process in their wallets, they cannot store more than INR 20,000 in their wallets. For people who opt for KYC registration, not more than Rs. 1 lakh can be stored into the account at any point of time. There are no limitations on the number of times