India Sets Scaled Fees for Overloaded Highway Vehicles

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has introduced new rules to impose scaled fees on overloaded vehicles traveling on India's national highways, aiming to curb excess loading and safeguard infrastructure. The amendments, notified on Tuesday and set to take effect from April 15, 2026, revise the fee structure based on the degree of overloading, with charges escalating from double the base toll rate for moderate excesses to quadruple for severe cases.

Under the National Highways Fee Determination of Rates and Collection Fourth Amendment Rules, 2026, vehicles carrying loads up to 10 percent beyond the permissible Gross Vehicle Weight will face no additional fee. For overloads between 10 percent and 40 percent, operators will pay twice the standard toll rate. Vehicles exceeding 40 percent will incur four times the base rate. Officials from the ministry stated that this tiered approach is designed to encourage adherence to weight limits, which often lead to premature road deterioration and higher maintenance expenses.

Overloading will be assessed using certified weight measurement devices at toll plazas. If such equipment is unavailable at a plaza, no overload fee will...