NPCI · NETC · MoRTH
FASTag Rules, Charges & Enforcement
What a FASTag is actually allowed to cost, what your tag must have on record to stay valid, why tags get blacklisted, and what you pay if you turn up at a plaza without one. Everything below is taken from NPCI circulars and MoRTH notifications rather than news reports — this is a topic where a great deal of circulating “new rules” content is simply wrong.
A note on “new FASTag rules”
NHAI has publicly denied at least one widely-reported rule change. In February 2025, after reports that transactions would be declined on tags inactive for more than 60 minutes before reaching a plaza, NHAI clarified that the NPCI circular in question concerned dispute resolution between banks and had no impact on the FASTag customer experience. If a rule is not traceable to an NPCI circular or a MoRTH notification, treat it with caution.
What a FASTag may cost
NPCI fixes standard charges for cars, jeeps and vans (vehicle class VC04). Issuers must adhere to these and must display them on their website.
₹100
Issuance / reissuance fee
₹200
Security deposit
₹100
Minimum recharge at issuance
There is no minimum-balance rule for cars. The circular states that an issuer “shall not impose/maintain any threshold amount” for VC04 vehicles apart from the security deposit. If a bank tells you a car FASTag must always hold some minimum sum beyond what the toll costs, that is not an NPCI requirement.
KYV — what your tag must have on record
“Know Your Vehicle” is the compliance check behind most blacklisting. Tags issued from 1 August 2024 had to comply at issuance; tags already in circulation had until 31 October 2024. Re-KYV is required every three years.
- ✓The tag is linked to a unique vehicle registration number (VRN) and chassis number.
- ✓The tag details are verified against the VAHAN database.
- ✓Clear images are on record: the front of the vehicle showing the tag affixed and the number plate, the side showing the axles, and a clear picture of the tag itself.
- ✓The tag is linked to a mobile number with appropriate KYC.
- ✓A copy of the Registration Certificate has been uploaded — digital copies only through Parivahan or DigiLocker, and never with masked data.
Issuers are required to give customers a platform — an app or WhatsApp — to complete KYV online and upload the documents and images. A point-of-sale agent is not permitted to update or modify the VRN on a tag.
One Vehicle, One Tag
If you have bought a used car, or replaced a tag without closing the old one, you may have more than one active tag against your registration number. Here is how consolidation works.
Enter your VRN
Log in to your issuer's portal and enter your vehicle registration number.
See every active tag
The issuer displays all active tags linked to that VRN.
Consent to closure
If multiple tags are open, you are told the previous ones will be closed and your consent is taken.
15-day hold
Issuers keep low balances on those tags for 15 days to allow for chargebacks, then close them.
If any tag attached to your VRN is hotlisted for a negative balance, the issuer raises a UPI/QR request against the NETC.VRN@bank handle for the outstanding amount. Your KYV cannot be completed until that is paid.
Why tags get blacklisted
KYV not completed
The circular set 31 October 2024 as the compliance date for tags already in circulation. Tags that do not meet the KYV requirements are to be blacklisted by the issuer, and no transaction can be done on them.
VRN never updated on a new vehicle
A tag issued against a chassis number alone must have its VRN updated within 90 days. If it is not, the issuer moves the tag to Hotlist. If there is still no update 30 days after hotlisting, the tag is closed for non-compliance.
Negative balance (hotlisted)
A hotlisted tag indicates a negative balance. The issuer generates a UPI/QR request against the NETC.VRN@bank handle for the outstanding amount, and the tag cannot be cleared until it is paid.
Tag never registered in the NETC Mapper
No transaction is permitted on an unregistered tag. Issuers must register a FASTag in the NETC Mapper before issuing it.
What you pay without a valid FASTag
Under the amendment to the National Highways Fee Rules effective 15 November 2025, the payment method changes what you are charged.
| How you pay | Multiplier | On a ₹100 toll |
|---|---|---|
| Valid, functional FASTag | 1× | ₹100 |
| No valid FASTag — paying by UPI | 1.25× | ₹125 |
| No valid FASTag — paying cash | 2× | ₹200 |
Unpaid tolls and the 72-hour window
The National Highways Fee (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026, in force from 17 March 2026, created a recovery mechanism for tolls that were recorded electronically but never paid — the enforcement backbone for barrier-free tolling.
An e-notice is issued to the registered owner.
It specifies the vehicle details, the date and location of passage, and the amount payable, and may be served by SMS, email or a mobile app, as well as on a designated online portal. NETC is integrated with VAHAN to identify the vehicle.
The amount demanded is twice the toll.
The unpaid user fee payable in response to an e-notice is twice the applicable toll amount.
Pay within 72 hours and the penalty disappears.
If the amount is paid within 72 hours of the e-notice being issued, only the original user fee is payable, with no additional charge. This is the single most valuable thing to know about the new rules.
You can contest it within 72 hours.
A representation may be submitted through the designated portal within 72 hours. It must be examined and disposed of within five days — and if it is not, the claim for the unpaid fee lapses.
Ignore it and it follows the vehicle.
If the fee remains unpaid beyond 15 days with no representation pending, the amount is recorded in the VAHAN system and restrictions may be imposed on vehicle-related services until the dues are cleared.
How FASTag, the Annual Pass and GNSS relate
These are three different things and are frequently confused. FASTag is the RFID system in use today. The Annual Pass is a prepaid status applied to that same tag. GNSS tolling is a separate, satellite-based system being introduced in phases — it does not replace your FASTag yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a FASTag cost?
Is there a minimum balance you must keep in a FASTag?
What is FASTag KYV and do I need to do it?
What is One Vehicle One Tag (OVOT)?
Why has my FASTag been blacklisted?
What do I pay at a toll plaza if I do not have a valid FASTag?
What happens if a toll is recorded but not paid?
Can I dispute a toll e-notice?
How old can a FASTag be before it should be replaced?
Is FASTag being replaced by GPS tolling?
Sources
- • NPCI / NETC circular NPCI/2024-25/NETC/001, “Guidelines for Customer Onboarding and Re-Know Your Vehicle (KYV)”, 20 June 2024 — charges, KYV requirements, the OVOT consolidation process, blacklisting and tag replacement.
- • NPCI / NETC circular NPCI/2023-24/NETC/006, “One-Vehicle-One-FASTag and closure of multiple tags linked to vehicles”, 29 March 2024.
- • MoRTH — amendment to the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, effective 15 November 2025 — cash and UPI multipliers for vehicles without a valid FASTag.
- • PIB, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, 18 March 2026 — National Highways Fee (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026, effective 17 March 2026 — unpaid user fee, e-notice recovery and the 72-hour window.
Charges and rules are revised from time to time. Confirm current charges with your FASTag issuer and current toll rules on the NHAI or MoRTH website.