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Updated July 2nd, 2022 at 13:54 IST

IRCTC charges Rs 70 for a cup of tea on Bhopal Shatabdi Express, faces flak from netizens

A passenger during his train ride on the Shatabdi Express was charged Rs 70 for a cup of tea. He was shocked to see that he had to pay a service tax of Rs 50.

Reported by: Megha Rawat
IRCTC
Image: Unsplash | Image:self
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In a recent incident, a passenger during his train ride on the Shatabdi Express was charged Rs 70 for a cup of tea. The passenger after looking at the bill was shocked to see that he had to pay a service tax of Rs 50 for a cup of tea that cost Rs 20. Reportedly, the passenger was travelling from Delhi to Bhopal and boarded the Bhopal Shatabdi. 

This was shared on Twitter by activist Balgovind Verma after which netizens slammed IRCTC with countless retweets. 

The culinary services were required for high-end trains like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi. The services were eventually made optional, nevertheless. Whether a passenger desired the food during journey or not was up to them. The passenger simply had to pay for the ticket in this instance while, the cost of the catering was not included.

Netizens troll IRCTC

One Twitter user reacted, “IRCTC is a govt organisation. All service charges go to the government. They can’t write tax because people are aware, that’s why it’s written ‘service’, they’re looting people in the name of service. Good that you shared. Anybody in your situation would order from IRCTC, not from outside vendors."

Another user quipped that the passenger should have made the tea himself while another pointed out that it was not service tax. The passenger was charged for the service, just like in hotels.

One Twitter user wrote, “I have also seen everywhere n every restaurant take service charges much higher whereas last month gov had declared, service charge should be paid by the restaurant, they can't charge to customers. Go to customer forum.. n complain against IRCTC tea (sic)."

While one of the users asked people to appreciate the fact that the cost of service is more than the cost of goods in most cases.

Another user said, "As per the 2018 circular by the Indian Railways, when a passenger does not book a meal while making a reservation in trains like Rajdhani/Shatabdi, then a service charge of ₹50 has to be paid for ordering tea/coffee or food during the journey, even if it is just a cup of tea."

 

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Published July 2nd, 2022 at 13:54 IST

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