IRCTC regains after govt drops call to share fees

Mumbai: The uproar on Dalal Street against the railway ministry’s decision to have a 50% share of the convenience fee that IRCTC charges its ticket booking customers forced the government to withdraw it on Friday morning. The move was prompted also by the company’s suggestion to the ministry that the levy should be withdrawn as its revenues were yet to be back to pre-Covid levels, government sources said.
Earlier in the day, the IRCTC stock had crashed nearly 29% on the back of the government’s decision that had come in Thursday’s post-market hours. Although the stock recovered most of its early losses after the government backtracked, it still closed 7.5% in the red at Rs 846 by close of Friday’s trading on the BSE.
According to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFS), the issue relating to sharing of convenience fee between the government and IRCTC “will always remain a key overhang until there is a clear policy from the government on the sharing ratio”.