12.5 lakh refund cases of FASTag users processed for wrong deductions

New Delhi, Feb 9: As many as 12.5 lakh refund cases have been facilitated to FASTag users for incorrect deductions since January 2020, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. “As on 5th February, 2022, approximately 12.5 lakh refund cases have been facilitated to FASTag users for incorrect deductions since January 2020,” Gadkari said in written reply to a question from Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Amar Patnaik. Under FASTag program, refunds are processed after scrutiny and validation by the respective issuer bank, based on the evidence and supporting details provided by stakeholders, such as fee plaza operators, concessionaires, acquirer banks and system integrator among others. Gadkari said that National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken various steps to reduce and eliminate occurrences of any incorrect deduction via FASTag at user fee plazas. Number of FASTag users have grown multi-fold in the last few years with government encouraging digital payment at toll plazas on national highways to cut waiting time and improve convenience. Over 4.59 crore FASTags have been issued till 31st January, 2022. As per the official data, user fee collection through FASTag nearly doubled from Rs 10,728 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 20,837 crore in 2020-21. The user fee collection through FASTag in 2021-22 (as of January, 2022) stands at Rs 26,623 crore