On the Delhi-Jaipur section of NH-48 in Rajasthan, at least one in 10 vehicles crossing the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) toll plaza at Shahjahanpur are classified as “unidentified” and do not pay the user fee. Similarly, around 2% of vehicles crossing Delhi’s Mundka-Bakkarwala toll plaza and 3% at the Manoharpura plaza on NH-48 could not be identified.This has prompted the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to hold inter-departmental discussions involving investigating agencies and the GST authorities to devise a mechanism to identify such vehicles and take action against them, The Indian Express has learnt.The issue has raised concerns within the department that these vehicles could potentially be involved in illegal activities such as smuggling, illegal sand mining and other criminal activities, or be used to evade Goods and Services Tax (GST), as the e-way bill system is linked to FASTag.This is also resulting in significant revenue losses for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and banks, as there is no mechanism to recover the toll where vehicles cannot be identified.How vehicles go unidentifiedTechnically, an unidentified vehicle is one in which either the number plate and FASTag are not visible or are covered while passing through the toll gate, or the number plate is fake or impersonated. Under the MLFF, or barrier-less tolling system, which is currently operational at seven fee plazas, the toll is deducted only when the FASTag and its linked number plate match. In cases where a FASTag has insufficient balance, an e-notice is issued, allowing commuters 72 hours to pay.Sources said that imposing a penalty of more than twice the toll amount and registering an FIR are among the measures being considered. A final decision is expected within a month.NHAI launched MLFF in May, with Choryasi in Gujarat’s Surat becoming the first toll plaza to implement the facility. This put India in the league of select nations such as the United States, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia, which have adopted the advanced tolling system. However, concerns over its misuse and vehicles passing through without paying the toll remain, given the absence of human intervention at the toll gate.Story continues below this ad“We are developing a dedicated internal portal to identify such vehicles. The data will be shared with all the relevant departments. Impersonating a number plate is a serious crime, not a normal toll violation. We are having this data now because of the MLFF system. At the existing boom-barrier toll plazas, only a functional FASTag was required; there was no requirement to match it with the vehicle’s number plate. However, under MLFF, the FASTag and the vehicle’s number plate must match,” said the source.Numbers on the riseThe data indicates that the number of such vehicles is increasing every month. Manoharpura, where MLFF went live on July 1, recorded over 99,500 unidentified vehicles out of the 31.74 lakh vehicles that crossed the toll plaza by October 21. Similarly, Shahjahanpur toll plaza, where MLFF went live on August 1, recorded 2.60 lakh unidentified vehicles out of around 24 lakh vehicles that crossed during the period. Paranur toll plaza in Tamil Nadu, where MLFF went live on October 1, recorded over 500 unidentified vehicles in the first 20 days of operation.The problem of unidentified vehicles is more concerning on the Gurgaon-Jaipur section of NH-48 because the entire corridor is barrier-less, with MLFF operational at all three toll plazas: Daulatpura, Manoharpura and Shahjahanpur. This means an unidentified vehicle can cover the entire corridor without paying any toll.“The matter is being reviewed every 15 days. The MLFF is also being awarded in a staggered manner. This will ensure that even if vehicles pass through a barrier-less toll plaza, they can still be identified using information recorded at boom-barrier toll plazas. We can identify these vehicles by matching their model and colour details from the VAHAN database with FASTag transactions recorded at boom-barrier toll plazas. We need a 10-minute window to do this, for which AI will be used to integrate different sets of data and identify violators,” said the source.Story continues below this adExpansion plansMLFF is an ambitious NHAI initiative aimed at ensuring seamless passage of vehicles through toll gates, eliminating congestion and the need to stop at toll plazas to pay the toll. Addressing the problem of unidentified vehicles is also important for NHAI, as such violations could undermine its efforts to move towards barrier-less tolling across highways.MLFF is currently operational at seven fee plazas: Choryasi (NH-48 in Gujarat); Mundka (UER-II in Delhi); Gharaunda (NH-44 in Haryana); Manoharpura (NH-48 in Rajasthan); Daulatpura (NH-48 in Rajasthan); Shahjahanpur (NH-48 in Rajasthan); and Paranur (NH-45 in Tamil Nadu).Apart from this, Indian Highways Management Company Ltd (IHMCL), NHAI’s tolling implementation agency, has awarded MLFF contracts for 10 more fee plazas. These are Boraich on NH-48 in Gujarat; Nemili/Sri Perumbadur and Chenasamudram on NH-48 in Tamil Nadu; Kasepalli, Amakathadu and Marur on NH-44 in Andhra Pradesh; Chalakwadi and Hiwargaon Pavsa on NH-50 in Maharashtra; Madanpur on NH-31 in Assam; and Badarpur-Faridabad on NH-19 in Haryana.Further, bids have been invited for an additional 104 fee plazas. According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, MLFF is projected to be implemented across all four-lane and wider national highways and expressways by March 2029.