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Have you ever wondered why it takes such a long time to pass from a toll booth especially during traffic? Have you ever waited for a long time for your turn to arrive to pass through the toll booth? Well, this is due to the toll tax rules today. However, in 2015-2016, a member from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) wrote a letter expressing concern with regards to road congestion at toll plazas. Let’s take a look at toll tax rules in India.
Note: Car Tax or Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is to be paid every year as per the new norms effective from April 2021. It depends on the age of the car and the carbon emissions. The vehicle older than 40 years are exempt.
Toll Tax is the amount you pay to use the expressway or highway anywhere in the country. The government has been involved in constructing better connectivity between different states, which involves a lot of money. These expenses are recovered by charging a toll tax from highways.
A highway or an expressway is a convenient option to use when it comes to travelling to different cities or states. The toll Tax Rate varies across different highways and expressways across India. The amount is based on the distance of the road and as a traveller, you will have to be accountable for it.
The toll tax rules 12 hours was a message that went viral on social media in 2018. The message claimed that if you go from one place to another and return within 12 hours, you won’t be charged a tollcharged toll at the booth. Furthermore, it was attributed to Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resource, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation in 2018.
After much questions and tweets, it was made clear the claim in the message was false. The National highwayshigh ways Authority of India (NHAI) had written a letter regarding revised rates of user fee on toll booths, categories like a single journey, return journey, etc. However, there was no mention of any 12-hour slip.
The toll tax rules in India brings to your attention the maximum time for waiting, the number of vehicles per lane, etc. Let’s take a look.
According to the toll tax rules, you cannot have more than 6 vehicles per lane in a queue during peak hours.
The number of toll lanes or /boothsbooth should ensure that the service time for the per vehicle during peak hours is 10 seconds per vehicle.
The number of toll lanes should increase if the maximum waiting time of a traveller exceeds 2 minutes.
Note that there is no clear answer in the agreement of concession with regards to a penalty if the rules are violated.
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The government is making constant efforts to reduce delays and remove congestion at National Highways (NH) across the country. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) brought in the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) through RFID based FASTag. This method ensures that all vehicles passing through the toll booths can travel without any delay.
The following are exempted from paying fees at toll plazas across India -
Other sectors included are mentioned below:
The Ministry of Defence including those which are eligible for exemption in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Toll (Army and Air Force) Act, 1901 and rules made thereunder, as extended to Navy
The Central and State armed forces in uniform including paramilitary forces and Police
An executive Magistrate
The fire-fighting Department or Organization
the National Highway Authority of India or any other Government organization using such vehicle for inspection, survey, construction or operation of national highways and maintenance thereof;
(a) used as an ambulance; and (b) used as a funeral van (c) Mechanical vehicles specially designed and constructed for use of a person suffering from physical defect or disability.
FASTag is a new way to pay toll tax online. It is a prepaid rechargeable tag that allow automatic payment Deduction from the FASTag. When the vehicle crosses the toll plaza, the toll fee will get deducted from the Bank account linked to the FASTag affixed on the vehicle's windscreen. These FASTags do not have any expiry date, which means, they can be used as long as they are readable at the toll plaza and are not tampered.
Make sure to pay the toll fees. Stay informed and vigilant.