“What Is Toll Tax and What are the Toll Tax Rules in India?”
Most of us are knowledgeable about the Toll taxes that are charged on the state highway and national highway by the Indian government for gathering funds and their maintenance.
Toll tax help to accumulate funds and are necessary to provide infrastructure. They also ensure that the expense of road safety and security is taken care of, as highway robberies are on high in many parts of India.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the usage of GPS (Global Positioning System) will ensure that India becomes a “Toll Plaza Free” nation in the next two years.
He also said “The toll collection may touch Rs.34000 crores by March 2021. With the usage of GPS for toll collection, the income in the next five years will be 1.34 trillion.
What is Toll Tax?
Toll tax is the amount you pay to the Indian Government to use the expressway or the highway anywhere in India.
This money is used by the Government to construct roads, highways and develop connectivity between the states.
A highway or expressway is a suitable way to travel between different cities and states. The toll tax rate changes across different highways and expressways across the country.
The amount is based on various factors like the distance of the road, the vehicle you are traveling, and so on.
Toll Tax Rules in India
Before moving to the other rules, let us look at the latest toll tax rule in India
FASTag Mandatory– Starting 15th February 2021, FASTag has been made compulsory for all the vehicles passing the highway or the expressway.
This step has been taken to reduce the vehicular traffic at the toll plazas. The Government of India has made the electronic toll payments mandate in all toll plazas across India.
What is FASTag?
FASTag is easy to use, a reloadable tag that allows the automatic deduction of toll charges and lets you pass through the toll plaza without waiting for the cash transactions.
FASTag is linked to prepaid accounts like Paytm from which the appropriate toll amount is deducted.
FASTag is issued by certified banks like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, PNB, KMB, SBI among others on POS (point of sale) locations.
You can get FASTag at the office of toll operators at the toll plazas, some selected petrol pumps, the regional office of NHA, banks’ websites, or even online portals like Flipkart, Amazon, and Paytm Mall.
Let’s look at few other toll plaza rules in India
Vehicles– As per the toll tax rules, there cannot be more than six vehicles per lane on the tollbooth during peak hours.
Lanes/Booth– The number of toll lanes/booths should ensure that service time per vehicle during the rush hours is 6 seconds per vehicle.
The Number of Toll Lanes– The toll lanes have to be raised if the maximum waiting time for the vehicle exceeds 2 minutes.
Conclusion– Make sure to pay the toll fees and use FASTag as the vehicles without tags would have to pay a double toll fee. Stay aware and careful.
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