Himachal Pradesh has become first state in the country to collect Green Tax with NETC FASTag barrier as the facility has been started in Kullu district.
A state government official said with the assistance of the Information Technology department in association with IDFC Bank and NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India), Kullu district administration has grounded the idea of contactless Tax collection in the state.
With this effort, Himachal has become the first State in the country to set up first-ever NETC FASTag Barrier to collect Green Tax. This barrier has been set up at the entry point of Manali which has the largest tourist footfall in the state. Tourists arriving in Manali will now be able to pay the green tax hassle-free at the automated FASTag Barrier, he added.
He stated that NETC FASTag Barrier will facilitate not only the tourists entering the state but also curb revenue losses which were happening due to pilferage at Tax Collection Points.
Tourists arriving in Manali can now pay their green tax without any hassle via FASTag at the Aloo Ground Barrier making the entire tax collection contactless. Managed by Kullu Tourism Development Council, this initiative will play a vital role in maintaining the efficiency and transparency in the collection of green tax via NETC FASTag.
With the innovative FASTag enabled barrier, tourists will be able to avoid long queues and traffic as, before this, the green tax was collected manually in cash, taking plenty of the time of the tourists.
The newly inaugurated FASTag Barrier at Manali is a step further in helping the Union government attain the objective of a less-cash economy. This initiative will also provide a fillip in digital transactions and promote the usage of digital payments in the state of Himachal, he stated further.