Skipped a toll? You could be denied registration, insurance and transfer

New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified that failure to pay toll or user fees on national highways will result in the denial of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for key vehicle services, including registration and insurance renewal, ownership transfer, vehicle transfer, and issuance of fitness certificates.

The notification, issued earlier this week, comes ahead of the rollout of Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) or barrierless tolling on several national highway stretches next month. MLFF implementation is at an advanced stage at Manoharpur and Shahjahanpur on the Delhi–Jaipur highway, Chorasi on the Surat–Vadodara stretch of NH-48, and Gharonda on the Delhi–Chandigarh highway.

Under the new rules, unpaid toll fees will be digitally linked to vehicle NOCs, ensuring that users who skip toll payments cannot access essential vehicle-related services. Unpaid user fee is defined as any toll amount due for use of a national highway section where the electronic toll collection system records the vehicle’s passage but does not receive payment.

The changes to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules are aimed at strengthening digital toll collection and preventing revenue leakage once barrierless tolling is fully operational, according to various reports. On MLFF corridors, vehicles will not stop at physical toll booths, with tolls collected entirely through electronic systems.

A dedicated online portal will soon be launched to allow motorists to raise complaints and resolve disputes related to toll payments. Sufficient opportunity will be provided for settlement before any action is taken to block NOCs.