The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has directed all FASTag issuer banks to immediately validate vehicle registration numbers (VRNs) linked to FASTags and also blacklist those found to be associated with incorrect or invalid details, according to a report by Economic Times. This move of NHAI is aimed at strengthening the accuracy and reliability of India’s electronic toll collection (ETC) system.
Why the directive was issued
The report states that according to NHAI, various complaints revealed that the VRN captured by FASTag readers often did not match with the actual registration number displayed on vehicle plates. “Such discrepancies have the potential to undermine enforcement mechanisms and may lead to evasion of government revenue and also attract other penal provisions under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988,” the authority said in its directive.
Legacy issues with older FASTags
NHAI further noted that a considerable amount of number mismatches were linked to FASTags issued before integration with the VAHAN database, India’s centralized vehicle registration system. At that time, validation mechanisms relied heavily on manual processes, which led to inconsistencies in vehicle identification records.“It has been observed that a considerable number of such mismatches are associated with FASTags issued prior to the integration of FASTag issuance with the VAHAN database,” it added.The authority also stressed on the importance of correct VRN mapping. NHAI feels that correct mapping is critical especially in a time when India is working on rolling out multi-lane free flow (MLFF) tolling. Under MLFF, enforcement actions such as issuing electronic notices (e-Notices) to non-compliant vehicles will depend on verified vehicle identification data.
