IHC halts NHA’s 50% motorway toll surcharge, seeks government response

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday put on hold a National Highway Authority (NHA) notification requiring motorists without an M-Tag, or those with insufficient M-Tag balance, to pay an additional 50 per cent motorway toll, while seeking replies from the federal government and the highway authority.

Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir passed the interim order during preliminary proceedings on a petition filed by advocate Muhammad Jalal Haider, who challenged the legality of the notification issued on May 30, 2025. The respondents have been directed to file para-wise comments and a report within a fortnight, with the case fixed for further hearing on August 3.

The court ruled that the notification would remain suspended until the matter is decided.

At the heart of the petition is the argument that the NHA acted beyond the powers granted to it under the National Highway Authority Act, 1991. The petitioner contended that Section 10(vii) of the law authorises the authority to levy and collect tolls on highways under its jurisdiction but does not permit it to impose penalties, surcharges or any other financial burden through an executive notification.

The petition further argued that travelling on a motorway without an M-Tag, or with an inadequate M-Tag balance, is not recognised as an offence under either the NHA Act or the rules framed under it. As a statutory body, the NHA can exercise only those powers expressly provided by legislation, it maintained.

According to the petitioner, the additional 50 per cent charge effectively amounts to a penalty imposed without statutory authority and creates a financial liability not envisaged in the parent law. It also argued that the surcharge bears no relationship to any additional service provided by the authority, rendering the notification legally unsustainable.

Besides seeking to have the May 30 notification declared unconstitutional and without legal effect, the petition also requested the court to direct the NHA to refund the additional toll collected under the policy and place on record the mechanism governing M-Tag balance management and the utilisation of those funds.