India

Cancelling Your Confirmed Train Ticket Or Hotel Booking? You Will Have To Pay GST

By
OB Bureau

New Delhi: Cancellation of confirmed train tickets will now come at a cost as it will now attract Goods and Services Tax (GST). According to an August 3 circular issued by the Tax Research Unit of the Ministry of Finance, the booking of tickets is a ‘contract’, under which the service provider (IRCTC/Indian Railways) promises to provide services to the customer.

As per the notification, the cancellation charge for a first-class or AC coach ticket will be 5 per cent GST, which is the rate levied on the ticket. The same logic will be applicable to the cancellation of air travel or hotel accommodation, where the cancellation charges will be taxed at the same GST rate as applicable to the principal service.

According to the Ministry, the cancellation charge is a payment instead of a breach of contract, so GST has to be paid. “When the contract is breached by the passenger, the service provider is compensated with a small amount, collected as a cancellation charge. Since the cancellation charge is a payment, and not breach of contract, it will attract GST,” the notification read.

For example, cancellation charges of railway tickets for a class would attract GST at the same rate as applicable to the class of travel (i.e. 5% GST on first-class or air-conditioned coach ticket and nil for other classes such as second sleeper class). The same is the case for air travel.

 

If one cancels the bookings of a particular class, then the same GST rate applicable for booking seats and berths for that class will be applied. For instance, if the rate is 5 per cent for first-class or AC coaches and the cancellation fee for this category is Rs 240, then the total cancellation fee will be Rs 252. No GST is applicable on other categories and second sleeper classes.

Indian Railways charges Rs 240 for cancellation when the ticket is cancelled 48 hours or more before the scheduled departure of the train. If the confirmed ticket is cancelled before 48 hours to 12 hours from the scheduled departure of the train, 25 per cent of the ticket amount is charged as a cancellation fee.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

Cricket, Queen Of Hearts, Social Media & The Big Rohit-Virat Question

Off with his head', orders the Queen of Hearts and off goes a head. The…

November 5, 2024

Canadian Cop Suspended For Protesting Outside Hindu Temple Holding Pro-Khalistani Flag

Ottawa: A Canadian cop, identified as Sergeant Harinder Sohi—a Peel Regional Police officer— was reportedly…

November 5, 2024

Miscreants Kill Woman After Tying Husband To Tree In Odisha’s Koraput

Koraput: In a shocking incident, A woman was allegedly killed after the assailants tied her…

November 5, 2024

Delhi-Bound Flight Receives Bomb Threat Before Takeoff From Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Passengers were de-boarded and frisked at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar after…

November 5, 2024

Speeding Car Uproots Traffic Post After Crash In Bhubaneswar; 2 Injured

Bhubaneswar: Two persons were severely injured when the car in which they were travelling crashed…

November 5, 2024

Seek Apology In Temple Or Pay Rs 5 Cr: Fresh Threat To Actor Salman Khan

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Salman Khan has once again received a threat allegedly from the Larence…

November 5, 2024

Former Odisha Congress MLA Passes Away at 42

Bhubaneswar: Former Congress MLA from Laxmipur (Koraput), Purna Chandra Majhi, passed away while undergoing treatment…

November 5, 2024

Will Donald Trump Defeat Kamala Harris? Know What A Hippo In Thailand Predicted [Watch]

Thailand: In Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo, a pygmy hippo—Moo Deng—‘predicted’ that Republican candidate Donald…

November 5, 2024