Center released new rules on toll charges

The central government has announced strict new rules to curb toll evasion on national highways and to strengthen the toll collection system. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has released fresh guidelines aimed at ensuring effective implementation and greater transparency in toll payments.

Under the new rules, vehicles with pending toll dues will be denied essential services such as No Objection Certificate (NOC), fitness certificate renewal, and national permits. To enforce this, the Centre has amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, and notified the updated Rules–2026.

These measures are intended to support better development and maintenance of national highways while promoting technology-driven toll collection. Vehicle owners seeking to transfer ownership from one state to another must now clear all outstanding toll fees to obtain an NOC. Similarly, vehicles with unpaid toll dues will not be eligible for fitness certificate renewal.

If a vehicle passes through a toll plaza using an electronic toll system but the toll fee is not successfully collected, the user will be treated as a defaulter. Such details must be declared in Form 28 while applying for an NOC, with provisions being made for online submission as well.

The government is also planning to expand the multi-lane free-flow tolling system, which allows vehicles to pass without stopping at toll plazas. Currently implemented as a pilot project on select highways, the system is expected to be rolled out nationwide in phases. The final notification has now been issued after considering public feedback on the draft released in July 2025.