IRCTC E-Ticket Booking Controversy: What You Need to Know About Surname Restrictions

Today, Indian Railways responded to widespread news reports alleging that IRCTC account holders cannot book e-tickets for individuals with different surnames. The IRCTC took to social media to clarify these claims, calling them “false and misleading.” They emphasized that rumors about restrictions based on passengers having different surnames are not true and assured users that they can book tickets for friends, family, and relatives using their User IDs.

IRCTC E-Ticket Booking

Official Statement

IRCTC’s social media post read: “The news circulating on social media about restrictions in booking e-tickets due to different surnames is false and misleading. Those spreading such false information should be discouraged. We clarify that tickets from the IRCTC site are being booked as per Railway Board Guidelines.”

Key Points from IRCTC:

1. You can book tickets on your User ID for friends, family, and relatives.
2. You are allowed to book up to 12 tickets per month. For Aadhaar-authenticated users, this limit increases to 24 tickets per month, provided one of the passengers on the ticket is Aadhaar-authenticated.
3. Tickets booked on personal User IDs are not meant for commercial resale, as doing so is an offense under section 143 of the Railways Act 1989.

New Exemptions Announced

In a positive development for rail passengers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced new exemptions for services provided by Indian Railways to the general public and for intra-railway transactions. These exemptions include platform tickets, retiring rooms, cloakroom services, and more, all aimed at reducing the cost burden on passengers.

The minister stated, “The purchase of railway tickets and payments for waiting room and cloakroom charges have been exempted from GST. Similarly, no GST will be levied on services like battery-operated vehicles and intra-railway services.”

Benefits of the Exemptions

These exemptions are expected to ease the financial burden on Indian Railways, allocating more resources toward improving infrastructure and services. This could lead to reduced ticket prices for passengers, particularly in first-class and air-conditioned coaches.

As per the ongoing GST provisions, the supply of goods and services by Indian Railways is currently taxable under the Forward Charge Mechanism.