The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered an antitrust probe against Indian Railways and The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for alleged unfair trade practices by IRCTC while providing online train ticketing and others services, reports The Hindu Business Line. Read the CCI order here.
CCI says this probe was ordered since it believes prima facie, there is a case of violation of the provisions of the Competition Act based on the complaints filed against the Railways ministry and IRCTC. The organization has now directed the director general to investigate this matter and submit his report in the next 60 days.
Other complaints from the order
- Tickets booked online doesn’t permit any concessions except for senior citizens and doesn’t allow users to reserve tickets with break journeys. Users are apparently permitted to book only 10 tickets per month
- IRCTC charges a premium on the e-ticket pricing on top of which it charges a non-refundable service charge and payment gateway charges. There is also a extra agent service charge if ticket is booked through an IRCTC authorized agents.
- Huge amount of Tatkal tickets are hoarded and sold at a huge premium of Rs 400 over the normal price. These bookings start only one day in advance thereby creating artificial scarcity and illegal practices by touts and agents.
- Limiting the availability of IRCTC agents by charging high fees for agent appointments. IRCTC currently charges a one-time fee of Rs 20,000 and an annual fee of Rs 5,000, which apparently acts a barrier for smaller agents.
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