GST effect: First class, air-conditioned train fares to rise

Passengers travelling in first class and air conditioned trains will have to shell out more for their journey after the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1.

According to the Ministry of Railways, service tax levied on tickets would go up to five per cent from 4.5 per cent.

However, non-AC travel, including that by local trains, metro and religious tours will remain exempt from the GST.

Similarly, GST on goods transport will be five per cent in place of the service tax of 4.5 per cent levied earlier with exemption for essential goods like milk and agricultural produce.

The Ministry of Railways said that it has issued a series of detailed instructions to all zonal railways and production units to ensure full compliance with GST.

"For off-line transaction, an utility has been created by Railways ERP manager, Centre for rail information system, to capture the transaction and facilitate submission of periodical returns in the GSTN portal," the ministry said.

--IANS

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