Are you paying toll for roads you didn't use? NHAI cracks down on false FASTag deductions

Are you one of the many drivers who have been charged toll fees despite not using the roads?

In a troubling trend, many vehicle owners have reported receiving toll deduction messages from their FASTag wallets even when their cars were parked or they hadn’t passed through a toll plaza. Officials attribute these errors to toll operators mistakenly entering vehicle numbers, often due to the FASTag being unreadable or when tags are carried in wallets, TOI has reported.

In response to these “false” deductions, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken action, penalizing toll collectors in at least 250 cases. The highways authority's toll management entity, IHMCL, has begun imposing a hefty fine of Rs 1 lakh for each violation.


According to officials, this strict penalty has led to a significant reduction in such incidents, with cases dropping by nearly 70%. Currently, only about 50 genuine complaints reach IHMCL each month, a stark contrast to the nearly 30 crore FASTag transactions that occur across the national highway network.

Many users have taken to social media to share their frustrations regarding false toll deductions, alongside lodging formal complaints with IHMCL. “Customers facing false deductions can file a complaint by calling 1033 or emailing falsededuction@ihmcl.com and each case is thoroughly investigated. And if the complaint of such deduction or incorrect manual transactions is established, chargebacks are issued to the customer immediately. Additionally, a Rs 1 lakh penalty is imposed on the toll operator responsible,” a senior IHMCL official told TOI.

The official added that the primary cause of these erroneous deductions is the incorrect entry of vehicle numbers by toll operators during manual processing of electronic transactions.

(With inputs from TOI)