FASTag

It is a common sight in India where a pile of vehicles await at toll plazas for their chance to pay toll charges and zoom off. The monotonous action of drivers making payments with cash and receiving a ticket in return from toll keepers is annoyingly slow. Therefore, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has rolled out an innovative technology that entirely skips the line, literally and figuratively. FASTag by the NHAI is a reloadable tag that deducts toll charges for a vehicle automatically when the car passes through the toll gate. This article talks about FASTag and various details that are essential to every driver.

Overview

FASTag by the NHAI is extremely simple to use. It is a reloadable tag which enables automatic deduction of toll charges when a vehicle crosses the toll gate. This lets a driver pass through a toll plaza without stopping for cash transactions to pay the charge. FASTag is linked to a pre-paid account. This pre-paid account is from which the applicable toll charge is deducted almost instantly. The tag functions with the help of a technology called the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and are affixed on the windscreen of a vehicle. In order to affix the tag on the vehicle, the tag account has to be activated.

FASTag is the perfect solution for a hassle-free trip on most national highways. FASTag is currently operational at more than 420 toll plazas across India including National and State Highways. The FASTag program ensures to keep adding on more toll plazas as time passes by and be genuinely cashless in the functioning everywhere in India.

Benefits

The following are the benefits of using the NHAI FASTag at toll plazas across India.

Cash Back up to 2.5%: A customer may avail a cashback of 2.5% on every toll payment using FASTag in the Financial Year 2019-20. The cashback amount for a certain month will be credited back to one's FASTag Account within a week post the said month.
SMS and Email Alerts for Transactions: Regular SMS and Email notifications will be sent to a customer's registered mobile number and email address, respectively, for every transaction taking place on their Tag account.
Exclusive FASTag Portal: A customer has the facility to access their statements for their Tag by merely logging on to the FASTag Customer Portal.
Save Fuel and Time: The toll amount is deducted automatically when the tag reader reads the Tag at the toll plaza. A FASTag vehicle is not required to stop at FASTag toll plazas.
Online Recharges: A customer has the facility to make recharges to their tag account through various online methods such as Credit Cards, Debit Cards or Net Banking.
Pre-paid Toll Pass: A FASTag customer is not required to carry any cash for toll payments.
Validity: A FASTag would be functional for a period of 5 years.
Other Benefits:
- Reduced air pollution
- Reduced use of paper
- Reduced toll payment hassles
- Analytics for better highway management
- Reduction in management efforts at toll plazas
- Reduction in Central Monitoring efforts

Documents Required

Any individual may visit any of the POS (Point of Sale) locations at certain toll plazas or issuer agency to obtain a FASTag as well as create an account for the same. The following documents are essential to apply for FASTag:

Registration Certificate of the Vehicle.
Passport-sized photograph of the Vehicle owner.
KYC Documents appropriate to the category of the vehicle owner.
Driving License
PAN Card
Passport
Voter's Identity Card
Aadhaar Card

NOTE:

FASTags will be issued only after the verification of the original documents that are mentioned above.
Customers are required to bring originals of their documents while visiting a PoS in order to purchase a FASTag.
The FASTag will be fixed on the windshield of the vehicle exclusively by a representative of the Issuer Agency.
Any representative of a vehicle's owner may provide the afore-mentioned documents and information to obtain the tag.

Fees and Charges

The charges applicable on FASTag are as follows:

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT (INR)
Tag Joining Fee (One-time Fee)	100/- ( including all applicable taxes)
Reissuance Fees	100/- ( including all applicable taxes)

One–time Tag Deposit Amount

Tag Class	Description	Tag Colour	Tag Deposit	Threshold Amount
4	Car/ Jeep/ Van	Violet	200	200
4	TATA Ace and similar Light Commercial Vehicles	Violet	200	100
5	Light Commercial Vehicle/ Mini Bus	Orange	300	140
6	3-Axle Bus	Yellow	400	300
6	3-Axle Truck	Yellow	500	300
7	2-Axle Bus/ 2-Axle Truck	Green	400	300
12	Tractors / Tractors with trailers / 4/ 5/ 6-Axle Trucks	Pink	500	300
15	7-Axle Truck and above	Blue	500	300
16	Earth-moving/ Heavy Construction Machinery	Black	500	300

NOTE:

GST would be applicable as required and will be levied on the charges mentioned above.
A convenience fee will be applicable for online recharges. Charges are subject to changes.
The threshold amount is the minimum amount that one may recharge at the time of tag activation.
While closing the FASTag account, the deposit will be refunded to KYC Customers only.

FASTag Portal Services

The following are the steps that are required to be executed to access the services of the FASTag Portal.

Registration Process

Step 1: Visit the official portal of FASTag. Step 2: Individuals may click on the Retail Login icon. On the other hand, corporate customers may click on the Corporate Login icon. Then, click on the option of First Time User on the home page. Step 3: Enter any two details of the given fields:

Customer ID: This is a 12-digit numeric number mentioned in the welcome emailer.
RFID Number: RFID is a 16-digit numeric number mentioned on the FASTag.
Wallet ID: This is a 14-digit numeric number which is mentioned in the welcome emailer.
Vehicle ID: This is an identification number that is unique to every vehicle.

Step 4: Enter the registered mobile number provided at the time of FASTag Application. Click on the Next Step icon. Step 5: Click on the Generate OTP icon. An OTP will be sent on the registered mobile number for authenticating the password generation request. Step 6: On successful validation, the new password is required to be set. Step 7: Select a minimum of three secret questions from the drop-down menu and submit appropriate answers. Click on the Continue icon to complete the registration process and to access the FASTag account. Step 8: The login page will be automatically displayed. Here, you are required to login with the User ID and new Password to access your FASTag account.

Blocking FASTag

The following is the procedure to block a FASTag in the case of vehicle theft. Step 1: Log on to FASTag Portal with relevant credentials. Step 2: Select the option of Service Request and click on the Generate Service Request icon. Step 3: Select the Request Type as Closure Request to block the FASTag or Wallet. Step 4: The FASTag Account may be blocked by calling a 24x7 Customer Care on 1800 120 1243.

Services Offered

The following are the services that one may access on the FASTag portal.

Manage Account: Customer may view their details such as Address, Wallet Details, Vehicle details, Account Details and view or download FASTag Wallet statements in Excel format.
Service Request: Customers may place a request to either close the RFID Tag or Wallet.
- Suspend Request: To place a request for a temporary closure of the RFID Tag and Wallet.
- Transaction Dispute: Customers may raise the complaint against a particular transaction that was not authorised.
- Whitelist: This option may be used to activate one's RFID Tag or Wallet for use.
- View Service Request: A customer may view the status of a service request.
Payment And Topup: A customer may recharge their FASTag instantly with this option.
Reports and Statements: Customers may view transaction details of a particular date or month, and download Wallet statements.