Refund Rule with effect from 1.7.2013.
. 1. Definitions. - In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires -
(a) "clerkage" means a charge levied by a railway administration for the clerical work rendered by it in the refund of fares;
(b) "destination station" means the station for which the ticket has been issued;
(c) "RAC ticket" means a ticket on which a seat has been reserved
against requisition for a berth and a berth may be subsequently provided
against cancellation, if any;
(d) "fare" includes basic fare, supplementary charge on superfast trains and reservation fee;
(e) "reserved ticket" means a journey ticket on which a berth or seat has been reserved;
(f) "reservation fee" means the charge, in addition to the fare, levied
by the Railway administration for the reservation of a berth or seat;
g) "station" means a railway station and includes other reservation offices or booking offices in the same city;
(h) "station master" means a railway employee, by whatever name called,
having overall charge of a railway station and includes any other
railway employee authorised to grant refund of fare at a Station;
(i) "ticket" means a single journey ticket or any half of a return
ticket but does not include a season ticket, an Indrail Pass ticket or a
special ticket for a reserved carriage or a tourist car or saloon, or a
special train;
(j) "ARP" means advance reservation period upto which a reserved ticket can be booked for a future journey date;
(k) "confirmed ticket" means a ticket on which a seat or berth has been reserved;
(l) "TDR" means ticket deposit receipt issued to the passengers in lieu
of the surrendered ticket, at the station where the ticket has been
surrendered by the passenger;
(m) "tatkal ticket" means a ticket with shorter advance reservation
period, issued to meet the requirements of those passengers who have to
travel at short notice;
(n) "waitlisted ticket" means a ticket on which no berth or seat has been allotted.'
2. Levy of clerkage. -
Subject to other provisions of these rules, station master shall levy a
clerkage charge per passenger for cancellation of unreserved,
wait-listed and RAC tickets at the rate of rupees fifteen for second
class (unreserved) and rupees thirty for second class (reserved) and
other classes".
3. Unused tickets on which no reservation has been made. -
If a ticket on which no reservation of a seat or berth has been made is
presented to the station master for cancellation, refund of fare shall
be made on every such ticket after deducting the clerkage-
(i) the ticket is presented for cancellation within three hours of issue of ticket;
(ii) in case of tickets issued in advance, the ticket is presented upto 2400 hours of the day preceding the day of journey".
4. Unused tickets on which reservation has been made.
1.Subject to the provisions of these rules, if a ticket on which
reservation of a seat or berth has been made is presented by the
passenger or his agent to a station master for cancellation, refund of
fare shall be made after deducting cancellation charges from the fare as
follows:-
(a) if the ticket is presented for cancellation more than forty eight
hours in advance of the scheduled departure of the train, a minimum per
passenger cancellation charge shall be deducted at the flat rate of
rupees one hundred and twenty for airconditioned first class/executive
class, rupees one hundred for airconditioned-II tier/first class, rupees
ninety for air conditioned III-tier/ 3 economy/airconditioned chair
car, rupees sixty for sleeper class and rupees thirty for second class.
(b) if the ticket is presented for cancellation between forty eight
hours and upto six hours before the scheduled departure of the train,
cancellation charge shall be twenty five per cent of the fare subject to
a minimum of the cancellation charge referred to in clause(a);
(c) if the ticket is presented for cancellation within six hours before
the scheduled departure of the train and upto two hours after the actual
departure of the train irrespective of distance, the cancellation
charge shall be fifty per cent of the fare subject to a minimum of the
cancellation charge referred to in clause (a);
and
(d) the passenger may get the ticket cancelled from any Passenger
Reservation System(PRS) counters or the designated current counters:
Provided that for the night trains leaving between 21.00 hours and 06.00
hours (actual departure), refund shall be admissible at the station
within first two hours after the opening of reservation office, in case
no current counters are available at the station originating the
journey;
(2) No refund shall be granted on the reserved ticket if it is
surrendered for cancellation after two hours of the actual departure of
the train.
(3) In case, on a party ticket or a family ticket issued for travel of
more than one person, some persons have confirmed reservation and others
are on waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage, shall be
admissible for confirmed passengers also provided that the entire ticket
is surrendered for cancellation within six hours before the scheduled
departure of the train and upto two hours after actual departure of the
train".
5. Unused waitlisted or RAC tickets.
(1) If a waitlisted ticket or RAC ticket is presented for cancellation,
refund of fare shall be made after deducting the clerkage in the
following manner, namely:-
(i) the ticket is presented for cancellation upto three hours after the
actual departure of the train irrespective of the distance;
(ii) the passenger may get the tickets cancelled from any Passenger
Reservation System(PRS) counters or the designated current counters;
(iii) no refund of fare shall be granted on RAC ticket or waitlisted
ticket after three hours of the actual departure of the train.
(2) In case no current counters are available at the station originating
the journey for night trains leaving between 21.00 hours and 06.00
hours (actual departure), refund of fare shall be admissible at the
station within first two hours after the opening of reservation office.
(3) In remote and hill areas as identified by the Zonal Railway with the
prior approval of the General Manager and printed in the time table,
for night trains leaving between 19.00 hours and 06.00 hours (actual
departure) refund shall be admissible at the station within first two
hours after the opening of reservation or booking office, in case there
is no reservation counters or booking office or current counters
available in that area.
(4) Where confirmed reservation has been provided to RAC or waitlisted
ticket holder at any time upto the final preparation of reservation
chart, such ticket shall be treated as a reserved ticket and
cancellation charge shall be payable in accordance with rule for Unused
tickets on which reservation has been made.
5 A. Cancellation of e- tickets.-
(1) The e- ticket may be booked and cancelled through internet and the
refund of fare shall be credited to the customer's account after
deducting the charges applicable.
(2) In case of a confirmed e-ticket, refund of fare shall be granted in
accordance with rule for Unused tickets on which reservation has been
made.
(3) In case of RAC e-ticket, refund of fare shall be granted in accordance with rule for unused waitlisted and RAC tickets.
(4) In case of the waitlisted e-ticket on which status of all the
passengers is on waiting list even after preparation of reservation
charts, names of all such passengers booked on that Passenger Name
Record (PNR) shall be dropped from the reservation chart and refund of
fare shall be credited to the customer's account after deducting the
clerkage.
(5) In case on a party e-ticket or a family e-ticket issued for travel
of more than one person, some persons have confirmed reservation and
others are on the list of RAC and waiting list, then in case of
passengers on RAC or waitlisted not travelling, a certificate has to be
obtained from the ticket checking staff to that effect and refund of
fare shall be processed online through TDR, indicating the details of
the certificate issued by ticket checking staff.
(6) The online TDR shall be filed upto seventy two hours of actual
arrival of the train at passenger's destination and the original
certificate issued by the ticket checking staff is to be sent through
post to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
(7) The fare shall be refunded by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC) to the customer's account after due verification.
(8) In case of e-tickets (confirmed or RAC), if the reservation charts
have been prepared, online TDR is required to be filed for obtaining
refund.
(9) No refund of fare shall be admissible on e- ticket having confirmed
reservation in case the request for refund is filed online after two
hours of the actual departure of the train.
(10) No refund of fare shall be admissible on RAC e-tickets in case the
request for refund is filed online after three hours of the actual
departure of the train.
5 B. Refund on Tatkal ticket:
1. No refund of fare shall be admissible on confirmed Tatkal ticket.
2. In case of Tatkal ticket on waitlist, refund of fare shall be granted
in accordance with rule for unused waitlisted or RAC tickets.
3. In case on a party Tatkal ticket or a family tatkal ticket issued for
travel for more than one person, some persons have confirmed
reservation and others are on waiting list, full refund of fare, less
clerkage, shall be admissible for confirmed passengers also provided
that the entire tatkal ticket is surrendered for cancellation within six
hours before the scheduled departure of the train or upto two hours of
the actual departure of the train.
6. Cancellation charges on multiple journey tickets -
When an unused ticket involving more than one journey is surrendered for
cancellation, the entire ticket shall be treated as one single journey
ticket and refund of fare of the entire ticket, irrespective of
reservation status of different laps of journeys, shall be granted as
per reservation status of first lap of journey, as under:-
(i) if reservation status of first lap of journey is confirmed, refund
shall be granted in accordance with rule unused tickets on which
reservation has been made (confirmed tickets) and
(ii) if reservation status of first lap of journey is RAC or waiting
list, refund shall be granted , in accordance with rule Unused
waitlisted or RAC tickets.
Note: The cancellation charges or clerkage shall be levied only once on
the entire amount of ticket and not separately for each lap of journey.
7. Postponement or preponement of journey on a reserved, RAC or waitlisted ticket.
(1) The postponement of journey on confirmed or RAC or waitlisted ticket
shall be allowed in the same class and for the same destination or any
higher class by the same train or by any other train for any subsequent
days, subject to condition that.-
(i) the ticket is surrendered during the working hours of reservation
office and at least forty eight hours before the scheduled departure of
the train in which originally booked;
(ii) the confirmed or RAC or waitlisted accommodation is available in the train in which fresh reservation is required;
(iii) in case of confirmed ticket, fresh reservation fee for the class for which reservation is required, is paid; and
(iv) in case of RAC or waitlisted ticket, clerkage charge is paid.
(2) The preponement of journey on confirmed or RAC or waitlisted ticket
shall be allowed in the same class and for the same destination or any
higher class by the same train or by any other train for any earlier
days, subject to condition that -
(i) ticket is surrendered during the working hours of reservation office
and at least forty-eight hours before the scheduled departure of the
train in which originally booked;
(ii) the confirmed or RAC or waitlisted accommodation is available in the train in which fresh reservation is required;
iii) in case of confirmed tickets, fresh reservation fee for the class for which reservation is required, is paid; and
(iv) in case of RAC or waitlisted ticket, clerkage charge is paid.
(3) In case of difference in fares for originally booked journey and
revised journey, the difference of fare shall be refunded or recovered,
as the case may be, subject to the provisions of sub rules (1) and (2) .
(4) The postponement or preponement of journey under the sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2) shall be allowed only once.
(5) The postponement or preponement of journey on normal train ticket
other that Tatkal ticket shall not be applicable against Tatkal Quota
even on payment of Tatkal charges".
8. Change of journey from lower class to higher class. -
(1) Change of reservation shall be allowed on a reserved ticket of lower
class for higher class on the same train and day or when reserved for a
seat in a class for reservation of a berth in the same class on the
same train and day, without levying any cancellation charges but on
payment of fresh reservation fee for higher class/berth, provided that -
(i) accommodation is available, and
(ii) the request for change is made -
(a) either during the working hours of reservation office and upto six hours before the scheduled departure of the train, or
(b) during the course of journey in the train.;
(2) The change referred to under sub-rule (1) shall be allowed only once
(3) If the ticket on which change of reservation has been allowed under
sub-rule (1) is cancelled, cancellation charge shall be payable as
follows, namely :-
(a) cancellation charge as would have been due if the original
reservation had been cancelled at the time when the change of
reservation was allowed; and
(b) cancellation charge due in respect of the altered reservation as if the altered reservation is a fresh reservation.
9. Non-commencement or missing of journey due to late running of trains. -
(i) No cancellation charge or clerkage shall be levied and full fare
shall be refunded to all passengers holding reserved, RAC and waitlisted
tickets, if the journey is not undertaken due to late running of the
train by more than three hours of the scheduled departure of the train
from the station commencing the journey subject to condition that -
(ii) the ticket is surrendered upto the actual departure of the train;
(iii) in case of e-tickets, the TDR is filed online before the actual departure of the train for availing full refund.
(2) In case the ticket is cancelled or surrendered or if the request for
refund of fare is filed online after the actual departure of the train,
no refund of fare shall be admissible.
(3) Where a passenger holding a ticket, with or without reservation, misses connection for continuedjourney
by another train at any junction station owing to late running of the
train by which he had been travelling, the fare for the travelled
portion shall be retained and the balance amount of ticket shall be
refunded as the fare for untravelled portion, without levying any
cancellation charge or clerkage, if he surrenders the ticket for such
refund within three hours of the actual arrival of the train by which he
had travelled and the refund of fare shall be granted at the junction
station".
10. Cancellation of tickets where railway administration is unable to provide accommodation. -
Where a railway administration is unable to provide accommodation for
any reason whatsoever to passengers holding reserved tickets, no
cancellation charge shall be levied and full refund of fare shall be
granted to them if such tickets are surrendered for refund within three
hours from the actual departure of the train:
Provided that when the train is cancelled due to unforeseen
circumstances such as accidents, breaches and floods, the ticket is
surrendered within three days excluding the scheduled day of departure
of the train.
11. Partially used tickets. -
(1) Except as provided in these rules, no refund shall be granted at a
station on a ticket on which part of the journey has been undertaken.
(2) Where a passenger terminates the journey enroute, a ticket deposit
receipt shall be issued to the ticket holder by the station master of
the station in lieu of surrender of the ticket and refund shall be
admissible in terms of rule for refund of Passenger Reservation System
(PRS) tickets in other circumstances. In such cases, fare for the
travelled portion shall be retained and the balance amount of the ticket
shall be refundable as the fare for the untravelled portion of journey.
12. Discontinuation of journey due to dislocation of train services. -
(1) When a train journey is dislocated enroute due to unforeseen
circumstances, such as accidents, breaches and floods, full fare for the
entire booked journey without any deduction for the travelled portion
and without levy of cancellation charge shall be refunded at the station
at which the journey is terminated under the following circumstances :-
(a) when the railway is unable to carry the passenger to destination
station within a reasonable time by arranging transhipment or diversion
or otherwise; or
(b) when the passenger is involved in a railway accident and/or injured in the accident and does not continue his journey; or
(c) in the case of death or injury to a passenger in a railway accident,
the kith and kin of the passenger have to terminate the journey.
(2) Where the railway administration offers to carry the passenger to
his destination station by any diverted route or by arranging
transhipment or otherwise, and the passenger is not willing to avail of
such an alternative arrangement, fare for travelled portion shall be
retained and the balance amount of ticket shall be refunded as the fare
for untravelled portion, without levying any cancellation charges, at
the station at which the journey has been terminated.
(3) Where the train journey is dislocated enroute due to bandhs,
agitations or rail roko, fare for travelled portion shall be retained
and the balance amount of ticket shall be refunded as the fare for
untravelled portion, without levying any cancellation charges.
(4) If the trains, which have separate all-inclusive fare structure on
point to point basis, are terminated at a non-scheduled stoppage of the
train and the passenger is not willing to avail of the alternative
arrangement made by the railway administration to carry the passenger to
his destination station, fare for the distance travelled shall be
retained based on the per kilometer fare of ticket and balance amount
shall be refunded as the fare for untravelled portion of journey.
13. Refund of certain fare on failure to provide air-conditioning facility in air-conditioned coaches. -
(1) Where the air-conditioning facility could not be provided for a
portion of journey, refund on tickets issued for air-conditioned coaches
shall be granted for such portion on the following basis, namely :-
(a) if the ticket is for air-conditioned first class, the difference
between the air- conditioned first class fare and first class fare;
(b) if the ticket is for air-conditioned sleeper/air-conditioned 3-tier
sleeper class, the difference between air-conditioned
sleeper/air-conditioned 3-tier sleeper class fare and sleeper class fare
(Mail and Express);
(c) if the ticket is for air-conditioned chair car, the difference
between air-conditioned chair car fare and second class fare (Mail and
Express);
(d) if the ticket is for executive class, the difference between the
notified executive class fare for the concerned section and the first
class fare (Mail and Express) for the concerned distance of that
section.
(2) The refund of difference of fare under sub-rule (1) shall be granted
at the destination station on production of the ticket alongwith a
certificate from the conductor
or the guard or the travelling ticket examiner of the train giving
particulars of the ticket, number of the coach and stations between
which the air-conditioning facility was not provided, and is presented
within twenty hours of arrival of the train.
14. When passengers are made to travel in lower class for want ofaccommodation.
If the ticket holder of a higher class is made to travel in a lower
class for want of accommodation in the class for which the ticket was
issued, refund of the difference between the fare paid and the fare
payable for the class in which it is actually used shall be granted at
the destination station or at the originating station, as the case may
be:
Provided that refund shall be granted at the destination station on
production of a certificate from the conductor or the guard or the
travelling ticket examiner of the train certifying that the holder of
the ticket had to travel in a lower class for want of accommodation in
the class for which it was issued and the ticket, alongwith the above
certificate, is presented within two days of the date of issue of the
certificate (excluding the date of issue of the certificate).
15. Lost, misplaced, torn or mutilated tickets: -
(1) No refund of fare in respect of a lost or misplaced ticket shall be granted.
(2) Refund of fare shall be granted in respect of a torn or mutilated
ticket if its genuineness and authenticity are verifiable on the basis
of the particulars visible on the face of the ticket.
(3) If the reservation status of a lost, misplaced, torn or mutilated
ticket, at the time of receipt of the application for issuance of a
duplicate ticket for the purpose of undertaking journey, is confirmed or
RAC and that the duplicate ticket is sought before preparation of
reservation chart of the concerned train, the station master shall issue
a duplicate ticket in lieu of the original ticket on payment of rupees
fifty per passenger in case of second and sleeper class and rupees one
hundred per passenger for other classes.
(4) If a duplicate ticket in lieu of a lost or misplaced reserved ticket
is sought after preparation of reservation chart of the concerned
train, it shall be issued on payment of a charge equivalent to fifty per
cent of the total fare.
(5) No duplicate ticket shall be issued in respect of RAC tickets after preparation of reservation chart of the concerned train.
(6) If duplicate ticket in lieu of a torn or mutilated reserved or RAC
ticket is sought after preparation of reservation chart of the concerned
train, it shall be issued on payment of a charge equivalent to
twenty-five per cent of the total fare.
(7) A duplicate ticket in respect of a party coach ticket or a special
train ticket shall be issued upto the time of departure of the train, on
payment of a charge equivalent to ten per cent of the total fare.
(8) No refund of fare shall be granted in respect of charges paid under
sub-rules (3),(4),(5) and (6) except in cases where the lost or
misplaced ticket is traced after the issuance of a duplicate ticket and
presented alongwith the duplicate ticket before departure of the train
and in that case charges collected towards the issuance of duplicate
ticket shall be refunded after deducting five per cent thereof subject
to a minimum deduction of rupees twenty.
(9) In case the journey is not undertaken, the cancellation charges on
the original ticket shall be determined as specified in these rules.
(10) If the passenger, who has paid excess charges in train on account
of his reserved ticket or RAC ticket being lost, misplaced, torn or
mutilated, makes an application to a railway administration for grant of
refund of the charges paid in train, the Chief Commercial Manager
(Refunds) of that railway administration may, after making such inquiry
as he may deem necessary, grant refund of fare, total charges realised
in the train, after retaining the cancellation charges at fifty per
cent. of a single journey ticket fare per passenger provided that no one
has taken refund earlier on the original ticket".
16. Wait-listed passengers on concession and privilege ticket order tickets. -
When any person has purchased a ticket on any concessional order or
privilege ticket order, and is wait-listed for reservation in any train,
he shall be entitled to avail of the same ticket for reservation in any
other train on the same date or any other date, without losing the
benefit of concessional fare.
17. Unused portion of return tickets. -
No refund shall be granted on the unused portion of the concessional
return tickets. When a return ticket is issued without any concession,
it shall be treated like two single journey tickets and the refund shall
be granted accordingly.
18. Refund of fare on unused tickets and freight realised on
luggage tickets in respect of luggage booked on the same ticket in case
the journey is not undertaken. -
(1) Refund of freight on luggage shall be granted by the station master as under:
| (a) | Luggage is with-
drawn at starting
station | Luggage ticket shall be cancelled and freight already
collected shall be refunded after recovery of wharfage charges, if any,
and deduction of cancellation charge of rupees five per luggage ticket.
Journey ticket shall be endorsed to the effect. |
| (b) | Luggage already Dispatched from
the starting station | Freight charges on weight admissible as free allowance shall be collected and remarks to this effect endorsed on journey ticket. |
(2) On production of journey ticket on which luggage has been booked,
the fare shall be refunded only if bearing the endorsement referred to
in sub-rule (1) on the unused ticket after deducting the cancellation
charges or clerkage as per rules.
19. Application for refund of Passenger Reservation System (PRS) tickets in other circumstances.-
(1) For refund of fare under circumstances other than those specified in
these rules or under circumstances like 'bandh' or agitations or
floods, etc., the passengers could not reach the reservation counter or
station or current counters for cancellation of tickets, in those cases,
a TDR shall be issued to the passenger and the passenger may apply for
refund of fare within ten days from the day of commencement of journey
to the Chief Commercial Manager (Refunds) of the railway administration
under whose jurisdiction the TDR issuing station comes, enclosing the
original TDR.
(2) In the circumstances specified in sub-rule(1), the TDR shall be
issued only upto three days after the scheduled departure of the train".
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