IRCTC Agent Ticket and Invoice Charges Explained

A customer looks at the invoice you gave them, then at the fare they saw on the train-search screen, and asks why the total is higher. If you can’t explain it line by line, the chat gets awkward fast, even when every rupee on the invoice is correct.

This page walks through the ticket the way your customer sees it, using IRCTC’s own documents. If you only want the agent’s rate card and the per-PNR rule, go to the agent charge page. One thing to know before you quote any total: the payment-gateway question below is still open, so read that section first.

What lines should an agent invoice show?

IRCTC’s Revised Agent Policy (effective 29 November 2019, Agent_Policy.pdf) says an agent must give the customer an invoice on the agent’s own stationery for the amount collected. The invoice “should contain details like Railway Fare, IRCTC’s service charges, agent’s service charges, payment gateway charge”. The tax on the agent’s charge is included in that charge and is shown separately.

IRCTC’s papers call the agent’s line “Agent Service Charge”. On this page we just say agent charge.

Here is how the four lines break down.

Notice what’s not in the table: anything you invent yourself. We’ll come back to that.

Where does the agent charge come from?

You don’t set it. The Internet Cafe Scheme norms call the ₹20 and ₹40 the maximum charges to be levied on the customer. Indian Railways fixes them, and the norms say they’re liable to change without notice.

IRCTC’s integration policy for Internet Cafe and B2B Principal Service Providers (source: IRCTC, 2 September 2020) describes these “Agent Service Charges” as the amount collected from the customer for booking e-tickets on a per-PNR basis, “irrespective of no. of passengers”.

That last phrase matters. It’s one charge per PNR, not per person. Say a family of four books a single AC ticket on one PNR. The agent charge is ₹40, once. If that same family ends up on two separate PNRs, the charge is ₹40 twice, because there are two PNRs. The ₹20 rate works the same way for Sleeper. This is only an example to show the counting, not a ticket price.

The class list sits on SiOnline’s agent charge page, so you don’t need to guess which class gets which figure.

What is IRCTC’s own convenience fee?

This is the second line on the invoice, and it isn’t yours. The same norms print IRCTC’s convenience fee as ₹15 plus taxes for Sleeper and ₹30 plus taxes for AC.

You’ll also see a total column in those norms for IRCTC plus agent: ₹35 for Sleeper and ₹70 for AC. Those totals simply add the two base figures together. They aren’t fully taxed totals. Here’s the catch, as checked on 18 October 2026: the agent charge (₹20/₹40) already includes GST, but IRCTC’s own fee (₹15/₹30) has tax added on top.

So don’t add GST again on the agent-charge line. And remember the PDF was created in 2021 and says these numbers can change without notice. Look at today’s convenience fee on the live booking screen before you quote it to anyone.

How does Tatkal change the charges?

The agent charge doesn’t change. IRCTC’s norms list one agent charge per class and no separate Tatkal figure for the agent. The railway’s Tatkal charge is a different thing, and it sits inside the fare side of the ticket. IRCTC’s reservation rules page describes it as a per-passenger charge on top of the normal ticket. The amount shows on the booking screen, so read it there.

What does change with Tatkal is when you can book. Indian Railways announced, in a release published by PIB on 11 June 2025 (release 2135694), that authorised agents can’t book opening-day Tatkal in the first 30 minutes. In practice, AC classes open to agents from 10:30 AM and non-AC classes from 11:30 AM. Our agent Tatkal timings post covers that rule in full.

What does IRCTC say about payment-gateway charges?

IRCTC’s integration policy defines Payment Gateway Charges as charges levied on the customer “by the concerned bank or Payment Provider or by the Principal Service Provider enrolled under RDS” for every transaction. RDS stands for Rolling Deposit System. It’s the model where a provider puts money with IRCTC in advance to book tickets.

Here’s where it gets tricky for a counter owner.

Payment-gateway charges: being confirmed with IRCTC. Until that is settled, don’t tell a customer that a ticket has no gateway charge, and don’t quote a percentage that your own invoice doesn’t show. Read the invoice line, and say what it says.

SiOnline pays agents no commission and shares no payment-gateway charges; it charges the agent only ticket fare + PG charges + IRCTC charges.

What may an agent not add?

Nothing. That’s the short version, and it’s worth spending a few minutes on, because this is where counters get into trouble.

IRCTC’s Revised Agent Policy lists, among the things a service provider must not do, collecting extra charges in any form, whether for cancelling a ticket or for checking availability status. SiOnline states the same rule for the fixed amount (as of 18 October 2026): an agent may charge the customer nothing beyond ₹20 or ₹40 per PNR.

The policy treats overcharging as point-of-sale fraud. For the listed offences, which include overcharging and charging cancellation charges, it provides:

• a penalty of ₹20,000 plus taxes per case of a complaint;
• a penalty on the provider of double the overcharged amount, plus taxes;
• permanent deactivation of the agent ID.

That’s the text effective from 29 November 2019, and IRCTC may have revised it since. So at the counter:

• Don’t add a “handling” or “quick service” amount to a booking.
• Don’t charge a customer for checking seat availability.
• Show each line separately on the invoice.

A customer who is happy today can still complain next month. A clean invoice protects you.

How do you explain the lines to a customer?

When someone asks why the total is higher than the fare on the search screen, go through the invoice in order. Use plain words, and point at each line as you talk.

1. Railway fare. What Indian Railways charges for the seat. A Tatkal ticket adds a Tatkal charge on top, per passenger.
2. IRCTC convenience fee. IRCTC charges this for the booking. Indian Railways sets it, not you.
3. Agent charge. The fixed amount for the class, once per PNR, however many passengers are on it.
4. Payment-gateway line. If it appears, it’s separate on the invoice. Point to it and ask your provider how it’s worked out. Don’t guess a figure from memory.

If the customer disputes a line, show them the invoice. Don’t argue from memory. Also keep the customer’s written or electronic request and a copy of their ID proof for six months, as the policy requires.

What happens to the charge on a cancellation?

The Revised Agent Policy says the agent’s charge applies only to the booking transaction, and that there’s no such charge for cancellation transactions. It also bans extra charges for cancelling a ticket. So you never add a fresh charge when the customer cancels.

What the policy and norms read for this page don’t say is whether the agent charge you collected at booking comes back to the customer on cancellation. Don’t guess. Ask your provider in writing, and tell the customer the answer before they book. If an invoice looks wrong and you booked through SiOnline, call or WhatsApp the support team on +91 91091 35959 with the transaction reference.

How do you check a disputed receipt?

Sooner or later a customer will say, “The total was lower when I asked you last week.” Put the quote, the invoice and the payment acknowledgement side by side, all matched to the same booking reference. Then check four things in this order.

• The journey. Is it the same train, date, class and quota? An earlier general-quota quote doesn’t explain a later Tatkal booking.
• The units. The agent charge is once per PNR. A railway Tatkal addition is per passenger. Don’t repeat the agent line for each traveller.
• The tax. Work out which lines already include tax and which have it added. If the invoice doesn’t explain a tax amount, ask the provider where it comes from.
• What was collected. If the total differs, find out whether an amount was described wrongly, left off the invoice or collected outside it. Don’t assume the whole gap is the agent charge, and don’t assume it’s misconduct either.

When you write to your provider, name the booking reference, say which document has the disputed line and ask one clear question. For example: “Which charge does this payment line on the invoice stand for?” A vague “please check” gets a vague answer.

If your provider says the description was wrong, keep the original invoice and the correction together, with the reason. If an amount was actually wrong, note the fix separately. An explanation and a money correction are two different results, so don’t close the customer’s question just because a reply has arrived.

Business costs such as registration, renewal and maintenance never belong on a passenger’s invoice. If you’re comparing what the agent ID itself costs you, the registration fees page lists it, and the registration page explains how to start.

Common questions

Do I charge per passenger? No. The agent charge is per PNR, whatever the number of passengers on it. The railway’s Tatkal charge is the per-passenger one, and that isn’t yours.

Is the ₹40 before or after GST? It already includes GST, according to the ICS norms. IRCTC’s own convenience fee is different: ₹15/₹30 with tax added on top (checked 18 October 2026).

Can I add a small amount for printing or “quick service”? IRCTC’s policy lists extra charges in any form as something a provider must not do, and SiOnline’s rule (as of 18 October 2026) is nothing beyond ₹20 or ₹40 per PNR. So no.

Can I tell a customer there’s no gateway charge? Not yet. That question is being confirmed with IRCTC. Read the invoice line instead and tell the customer what it says.

How often do these numbers change? The norms say they can change without notice. That’s why every figure on this page carries a date, and why you should look at the live booking screen before you quote.

Sources

• IRCTC, Revised Agent Policy for E-Ticketing Principal Service Providers, Internet Cafe and B2B Schemes, effective 29 November 2019: Agent_Policy.pdf.
• IRCTC, Policy for Integration of B2B and Internet Cafe Principal Service Providers, 2 September 2020: policy PDF.
• IRCTC, Norms for Internet Cafe Scheme (ICS), PDF created 14 June 2021: NormsforInternetCafeScheme.pdf.
• IRCTC, reservation rules and terms page: term_src1.html.
• Indian Railways announcement published by PIB, release 2135694, 11 June 2025: PIB release.

Facts on this page were last checked on 18 October 2026. Charges, rules and penalties change without notice. Confirm them on IRCTC’s current documents and on the booking screen before you act.