Parliamentary Panel Urges MoRTH, NHAI to Create Transparent, Tech-Driven Toll Refund System
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called upon the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to develop a transparent, technology-based mechanism for automatic toll refunds or waivers in cases where highway stretches are incomplete, unfit for full use, or undergoing maintenance.
In its 33rd report on the levy and regulation of tolls and infrastructure governance on national highways, tabled on Tuesday, the PAC termed it “unacceptable” to collect tolls when safe, uninterrupted, and timely travel is not available. The committee flagged the absence of an institutional mechanism for toll refunds or waivers despite services not being provided.
The report stated that continuing to collect tolls for incomplete stretches or those with serious safety and traffic flow deficiencies violates both the user-pay principle under Section 7 of the National Highways Act and norms of fair commercial conduct under Section 10 of the NHAI Act.
The panel, chaired by Congress MP K.C. Venugopal, drew a parallel with the income tax system, where refunds are processed transparently and automatically in cases of excess payment. It recommended that the toll refund mechanism be fully integrated with the electronic toll collection framework (such as FASTag) and operate without user intervention, with refunds credited directly to users’ accounts.
Addressing concerns over excess toll collection, the ministry stated that in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) and Public Funded (EPC) projects, NHAI collects toll revenue and remits it daily to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI) as non-tax revenue. Any excess toll collection is also remitted to the CFI. In BOT (Toll) projects, where concessionaires collect the toll, excess amounts found are recovered from them and deposited into the CFI.
In cases of wrongful FASTag deductions, the amount is refunded to the user after verification of the grievance. Under the National Electronic Toll Collection programme, chargebacks due to incorrect deductions amounted to ₹47.23 crore in 2022, ₹58.61 crore in 2023, and ₹40.69 crore in 2024 — totalling nearly ₹147 crore.
The ministry has also faced public criticism on social media over poor road conditions. The proposed automated toll refund system aims to ensure that road users pay only for the services actually delivered.
