New Delhi: The National Payments Corporation of India’s new rules regarding FASTag balance validation will come into effect from February 17, 2025. According to NPCI, if a FASTag is blacklisted, the owner will have a 70-minute window to fix the issue before facing penalties or payment rejections at toll plazas.
The NPCI has made two notable changes regarding the validation of balance in a FASTag and every Fastag user should have the knowledge about the new rules. NPCI’s circular mentions that FASTag transactions will be declined if the concerned account is blacklisted or marked with exceptions like low balance, pending KYC updates, or mismatched vehicle details for more than 60 minutes before reaching the toll plaza. The transaction will get rejected if a FASTag status is inactive 10 minutes post-scanning at a toll plaza.
If a FASTag fails to meet the conditions, the system will decline the transaction with error code 176 and the vehicle will be charged twice the toll fee as a penalty.
FASTag Blacklist: 70-Minute Grace Period and Penalties
Transactions that are presented shall be validated based on reader read time and the time at
which the tag is placed under hotlist / low balance / blacklist. Transactions presented on tags
which are not active for more than 60 minutes prior to reader read time and up to 10 minutes
after the reader read time shall be declined with reason code 176, the NPCI mentioned in its release.
The NPCI order released on January 28, 2025 asked the banks providing Fastag to make necessary changes in their systems and processes in alignment with these changes. It asked the banks to ensure smooth implementation, acquirer banks are advised to communicate these updates to plaza operators and system integrators.
New FASTag rules effective February 17, 2025, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has stated. These changes focus on balance validation, introducing a 70-minute grace period for resolving issues like blacklisting or low balance before penalties are applied. Transactions failing validation within this period will be declined (error code 176), resulting in a double toll fee. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
