OK to buy tix for a foreigner on IRCTC?
 

Hi, I have a canadian friend (white guy) who is landing in Delhi and wants to take the train to Agra. I booked tix for him on IRCTC, but keep seeing posts about a "foreign travel quota" that has to be booked at a booking office after producing ticket and visa.

Is that the only way foreigners can book on IR? Or are my IRCTC bookings ok?

i believe the irctc booking will be fine....i've booked for a number of friends before & they have never had a problem....

Those foreign travel quotas are history. Even in the 90s you could buy a ticket for a foreigner without issues.

ah, ok. thanks, guys.

Not yet history. A few months ago I tried to book on-line on a train out of Chennai Central and it had no availability. I went to the Chennai Central Station and asked about purchasing two tickets under the foreign quota and lo and behold two seats were made available to me. To purchase the tickets I had to appear in person at the departing station and produce the two foreign passports and make payment in foreign currency. The station master checked the dates and ports of entry into India and put that information in the reservation records along with the two passport details.

OK, correction. Yes, the quota is still there and useful if you need a spot.

But no, the requirement for foreigners to spend hard currency on their travel spend in India is long gone. I remember the painful discussions when my German mother travelled domestic in the 80s and 90s on INR tickets, every time we had to pull out the paperwork showing that she was a resident.

Vice versa it was nice to get the taxes exempted on the spot when dining at 5* hotels.

That's interesting information. How did they handle your payment in foreign currency? Cash or credit card?

No taxes for foreign citizens/non-residents at hotels?

http://www.incometaxindiapr.gov.in/i...s/dtc483mx.htm

Foreigners were levied concessionary tax at hotels when showing the exchange certificate.

Very interesting... looks like a 5% rebate if you pay in foreign currency. Does this still work?

I don't think so. It was 5% instead of 15% or something like that, definitely significant enough to be worth the effort.

I used a US credit card and they verified that it was foreign.

You'll have no trouble using the normal quota on IRCTC. To Agra, be sure to book in AC Chair Car, especially if it's summer season. Also, if you have trouble with IRCTC bookings (though it sounds like you're set), use Cleartrip; my international cards don't work on IRCTC, which, I think, only accepts AmEx and Indian cards. Note that you can only make 10 one-way reservations per month per IRCTC account (including Cleartrip).

:) Thanks but I'm an indian citizen, live in India and book using my locally issued cc all the time. This was the first time I had to book for a foreigner is why I asked.

The only reason to use the foreign travel quota now is to get seats that are otherwise sold out.

About a year old a very good primer on Foreign Tourist Quota.

http://www.indiamike.com/india/india...guide-t192751/