ISLAMABAD: A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the National Highway Authority’s (NHA) decision to impose a 50 per cent additional toll penalty on vehicles without an M-Tag and those with insufficient M-Tag balance.
The petition, filed by advocate Muhammad Jalal Haider against the NHA, seeks to have the penalty declared illegal and asks the court to order the authority to refund all amounts collected under the policy. The Ministry of Communications, the NHA and other relevant authorities have been named as respondents.
According to the petition, the NHA issued a notification on May 30, 2025, introducing a 50pc additional toll charge on vehicles travelling without an M-Tag or with inadequate balance in their M-Tag accounts.
The petitioner argued that Section 10 of the NHA Act authorises the authority only to collect toll tax and does not empower it to impose penalties on motorists. It contended that the law contains no provision allowing fines for either non-M-Tag vehicles or those with low M-Tag balances.
The petition further alleged that the NHA was collecting penalties without any legal basis, arguing that the policy violated Articles 4, 18, 24 and 25 of the Constitution.
It requested the court to declare the May 30 notification unconstitutional and void, direct the NHA to refund all penalties collected under the notification, and seek details of the mechanism governing M-Tag balances and its implementation.
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