Book Tatkal tickets through IRCTC and pay later - Here is how it works

New Delhi: Summer vacations are on and booking tickets for the most-anticipated holiday destination can become bit easier this time. You can now pay later for tickets booked under the tatkal quota on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) website.

Till now, this service was available only for general reservations. For Tatkal bookings, people had to pay first via the standard online payment gateways before the IRCTC portal confirmed their ticket.

For Tatkal tickets, IRCTC users will be able to pay via cash, debit card or credit card by opting to have tickets delivered at their doorstep.

The new feature eliminates the transaction failures as often the money gets debited and the ticket is not issued due to multiple reasons. The refund cycle is of about seven to 15 days.

Here's how it works

- The book now and pay later facilities for Tatkal tickets can be either done through ePaylater (powered by Arthashastra Fintech Pvt Ltd) or by Pay-On-Delivery (Powered by Anduril Technologies).

- Pay-On-Delivery Powered by Anduril Technologies is an app only platform.

- ePaylater powered by Arthashastra Fintech Pvt Ltd requires a prior registration and may ask you for your PAN or Aadhaar details.

- Remember, the tickets you would purchase via this medium are going to be e-tickets.

- You will also register yourself and give in your details on these service providers to purchase tickets for payments later.

- As soon as your ticket is booked, it will be either sent to you via email or via SMS.

- You will have a 15-day window to pay for the tickets. But for late submission of fare, a 36 percent transaction interest may be levied upon you.

- Incase you don't pay even after the late payment fee is imposed, then a legal action against you is also possible.

- Your account may also be deactivated.

Points to remember

For the above bookings, ticket will be delivered to your door steps in case of COD as a payment option. The delivery charges are same as IRCTC I-ticket charges. The details of your booking will be available in the Booking History section on Bookmytrain.com. You can login at any time and print your copy, even if you lose one and need another, an IRCTC FAQs has said. Cash On Delivery is allowed 5 days prior to the travel. You can book for a maximum of four passengers under Tatkal booking. This number includes any children or senior citizens who are traveling together.