Indian Automotive Industry is having too many irons in the fire as it takes big decisions and announces new rules and policies. Earlier, a policy regarding EVs was announced and now the government has shaken things up by releasing this new norm. The National Highways Authority of India's "One Vehicle, One FASTag" rule, aims to discourage using single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle.

It is also reported that Due to issues that Paytm customers are having, the NHAI extended the compliance deadline for the "One Vehicle, One FASTag" project to March 31st. This can be said This new norm has come into effect from April 1, 2024.

Also Read: FASTag Rules & Regulations 2024: You Should Know About it

This new norm was much needed to address the issue of multiple FASTags being issued for a particular vehicle and FASTags being issued without KYC, which violates the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) mandate. Additionally, some users deliberately do not fix FASTags on the windscreen of their vehicles, causing unnecessary delays at toll plazas and inconvenience to other National Highway users. NHAI is encouraging FASTag users to complete their 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) process for their latest FASTag, as per RBI guidelines. FASTags with valid balances but incomplete KYC will be deactivated/blacklisted by banks post-February 29, 2024.

The 'One Vehicle, One FASTag' concept does not imply that a vehicle owner must exclusively recharge their FASTag using a specific bank. Instead, it indicates that a vehicle owner is permitted to have only one active FASTag for one vehicle. Acquiring multiple FASTags for a single vehicle is not permitted

A FASTag bought for one vehicle cannot be used for another vehicle. FASTags are issued to each vehicle based on the vehicle's registration copy. If there is a mismatch, the ETC system at the toll plaza will detect the class mismatch, and the FASTag is liable to be 'blacklisted' by the issuer bank.

An overview of FASTag can be given as FASTag is an electronic toll collection system in India, operated by the NHAI. It employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for toll payments directly from the account linked to it. With a penetration rate of around 98% and over eight crore users, FASTag has revolutionized the electronic toll collection system in the country.

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