A Kota-based engineer, who was engaged in a 2-year-long battle with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) over a cancelled railway ticket, received a refund of Rs 33 from Indian railways. The rest of the amount was charged as service tax despite cancellation of the ticket prior to the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST).

The ticket was booked on April 2017 for a journey on July 2 from Kota to New Delhi. However, it was cancelled and 30-year-old Sujeet Swami had been fighting ever since to obtain a refund of Rs 35 from IRCTC, the timesnownews.com reported.

The ticket was priced at Rs 765 but was waitlisted. After Swami cancelled it, he received a refund of Rs 655, reported PTI.

‘Rs 100 was deducted instead of Rs. 65 against cancellation of a waitlisted ticket. I have been following up the case since 2017 and was given only assurances that the amount would be refunded,’ Swami told the news agency.

Even though the cancellation was done before the implementation of the GST, Swami was charged an extra amount of Rs 35 as service tax. In an attempt to get the full refund, Swami then filed an RTI.

IRCTC in its reply to the RTI said service tax charged at the time of booking shall not be refunded for tickets booked before the implementation of GST and cancelled later.

‘So, a sum of Rs. 35 will be refunded,’ the IRCTC had said in the RTI reply. However, Swami received a refund of Rs 33 in his bank account on May 1, 2019.

Swami had earlier moved a petition in Lok Adalat in April 2018 which was disposed of in January 2019.

‘I kept following the matter through RTIs. It was a long battle I had to fight. My RTIs was transferred 10 times from one department to another from December 2018 till April end. Finally, I have received Rs. 33 in bank account,’ Swami told news agency PTI.

Swami said he will follow the case again for the ‘harassment’ caused to him.