FASTag Will Be Available For Free Until February 29: All You Need To Know

FASTag is one of the highly talked about topics of late as this electronic payment system is required for vehicles to pay toll charges on National Highways across the country. Earlier, the deadline for the same was December 31, 2019 and the same was extended to March 2020.

Previously, the Central government was charging Rs. 100 for the issuance of FASTag. Now, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced that it has waived off Rs. 100 on the same for a limited time period, which is from February 15 to February 29. During this period, the NHAI FASTag will be available for vehicle owners for free and they do not have to pay anything to get the RFID tag.

Avail Free FASTag

So, until February 29, 2020, vehicle owners just have to visit the national highway toll plazas, common service centers, regional transport offices, petrol pumps, transport hubs, and other authorized physical point-of-sale locations to get FASTag for free. All they need to produce at the time of getting the FASTag is a valid RC (Registration Certificate) for their vehicles.

The official statement regarding the same notes that they have waived off the FASTag cost of Rs. 100 for 15 days so that there is an increase in the digital collection of the fee at National Highways toll plazas with the use of FASTag.

The Catch!

Though you get the FASTag for free as mentioned above until the end of this month, you need to know that you still have to pay for the same that you get from third-party issuers such as Paytm, HDFC, ICICI, and others. And, these third-party FASTags are still priced at Rs. 100 and also come with a security deposit of Rs. 200.

Notably, this is not the first time that FASTag is being offered for free of cost by the government. Back in December 2019, when the system was implemented across tolls in India, the government issued FASTag for free for vehicle owners.

And, once you get the FASTag, you still have to still continue with the recharge of the same similar to any digital payment wallet that you use.