FASTag Errors Exposed: Toll Deducted Even When Vehicles Were Parked, NHAI Refunds 18 Lakh Users
FASTag Errors Exposed: Toll Deducted Even When Vehicles Were Parked, NHAI Refunds 18 Lakh Users
Incorrect manual entries and technical faults led to wrongful toll deductions; government considers ending manual vehicle entry at plazas
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has refunded toll charges in nearly 18 lakh FASTag cases after detecting errors in electronic toll deductions, including instances where vehicles were not even present at toll plazas when money was debited.
The issue came to light through audits and user complaints, prompting official acknowledgment that incorrect toll charges were deducted from FASTag wallets due to system errors and manual data entry at toll booths.
According to data shared in Parliament, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which manages the central clearing system for FASTag transactions, recorded 17.6 lakh incorrect toll deductions between January and December 2025. These refunds were issued out of a total of 464 crore FASTag transactions during the period, accounting for about 0.03 per cent of all toll payments.
In nearly 35 per cent of the refunded cases, vehicles had not crossed any toll plaza at the time the toll was deducted, indicating errors caused by manual vehicle number entry when automated FASTag scanning systems failed.
Explaining the issue, the government said that when FASTag readers do not function due to technical problems, toll operators manually enter vehicle numbers to collect fees. Errors during this process can result in toll charges being deducted from the FASTag account of a different vehicle owner.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, said the government takes such errors seriously as they affect public trust in the electronic tolling system. He added that the ministry is considering doing away with manual entry of vehicle numbers at toll plazas to reduce such incidents in the future.
Despite the errors, the ministry highlighted that FASTag has significantly improved toll efficiency across national highways and expressways. The average time taken to cross a toll plaza has reduced to around 40 seconds compared to more than 12 minutes under the earlier manual toll collection system.
The road transport ministry also informed Parliament that toll collections remain strong, with ₹50,195 crore collected across national highways and expressways in the first three quarters of the 2025–26 financial year. In the previous financial year, total toll collection stood at ₹61,508 crore.
Officials have advised FASTag users to enable payment alerts through SMS or mobile applications to track toll deductions in real time. Such alerts help commuters quickly identify incorrect charges and raise complaints with FASTag issuers or NHAI before delays occur.
