Islamabad High Court extends interim relief in M-Tag additional toll tax case

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court has extended its interim order regarding the non-collection of 50 percent additional toll tax from vehicles without an M-Tag or with an insufficient balance in the M-Tag account until the next hearing. The court made this decision during the hearing of the case, in which the relevant policy of the National Highway Authority (NHA) has been challenged.

During the hearing, the NHA submitted its written response to the court. The petitioner’s counsel submitted that they need more time to examine the response in detail. On this application, the court adjourned the hearing and ordered the maintenance of the interim relief.

The court clarified that till the next hearing, 50 percent additional toll tax will not be collected from unregistered vehicles with MTag or from users who do not have the required balance in their MTag account. The aim of this interim order is to maintain the status quo until the final decision of the case.

As a background, the National Highway Authority had introduced a policy of imposing 50 percent additional toll fee on vehicles that were not registered with MTag on motorways and national highways to promote the MTag system. According to the NHA, the aim of this measure is to promote electronic toll collection, improve traffic flow and reduce waiting time at toll plazas.

On the other hand, the petitioner has taken the position in the court that the policy of imposing an additional toll tax is worth considering in light of legal and constitutional points; on this basis, this decision was challenged in the court. The court will further examine the arguments of the parties and the NHA’s response in the next hearing.

According to legal experts, the final decision in this case could have significant implications not only for the millions of motorway users using M-Tags but also for the future toll tax collection mechanism and the implementation of the digital transport policy. For now, due to the court’s interim order, the collection of the additional 50 percent toll tax will remain suspended until the next hearing.