Overloaded trucks to pay up to 4x toll? Centre’s new rule explained

New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has notified amendments to streamline fee collection for overloaded vehicles on National Highways, aiming to boost compliance and improve road safety.

The National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Fourth Amendment Rules, 2026, will come into force from April 15, 2026, introducing a revised framework for levying charges on vehicles exceeding permissible load limits.

Under the amended Rule 10, vehicles carrying excess loads will be charged based on the degree of overloading. While no fee will be levied for up to 10 per cent excess load, vehicles overloaded between 10 per cent and 40 per cent will be charged twice the base rate. Those exceeding 40 per cent will face a fee four times the base rate.

The ministry said the move is aimed at encouraging adherence to prescribed Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) norms, protecting highway infrastructure and enhancing overall road safety.

To ensure accuracy, overloading will be determined using certified weighment devices installed at toll plazas. Notably, no overload fee will be charged at locations where such facilities are not available.

The rules also mandate digital-only payment of overload charges through FASTag. Details of such violations will be recorded and reported to the VAHAN database.

Additionally, vehicles entering National Highways without a valid FASTag will continue to attract penalties under existing provisions.

The amendment includes an illustrative framework to clarify fee calculations for different categories of vehicles, aimed at ensuring transparency in implementation.

According to the ministry, the revised rules are expected to reduce damage caused by overloaded vehicles, improve compliance and enable safer, more efficient movement of goods across the national highway network.