Overloaded vehicles pay up to 4 times toll; now must report to Vahan

New Delhi: From Wednesday, April 15, it will not be possible to divert or under-declare toll revenue from overloaded vehicles on national highways. The toll collection agency can only charge higher user charges on overloaded vehicles through FASTag and such vehicles must be recorded and reported to the government’s Vahan portal.The provision of reporting overloading to the Vahan portal is significant as it will enable law enforcement agencies to impose penalties for violations of the Motor Vehicle Act. According to the 2019 updated MV Act, the penalty for overloading of trucks is Rs 20,000, and an additional penalty of Rs 2,000 per ton for overloading has also been stipulated.The Ministry of Road Transport on Tuesday issued a notification revising the NH User Charge Rules, which said that while overloading of 10% is allowed, vehicles overloaded by 10-40% will have to pay double the normal charge, and those overloaded by more than 40% will be four times the normal overload.The ministry said overloading will be determined using certified weight measuring equipment installed at toll plazas. If the toll station does not have weighing facilities, no over-limit fees will be levied.It said the provisions will not apply to certain private investment projects executed before launch unless the concessionaire agrees to adopt the revised rules. The ministry said in an official statement that the revision of toll rules is expected to improve compliance, reduce road damage caused by overloaded vehicles and promote safer and more efficient movement of goods in the NH region.