Rly staff may again enjoy tax-free travel

NEW DELHI: The revenue department is considering partially rolling back decision to tax travel perks of railway employees.
It is now considering exempting from tax one railway pass and two privelege ticket orders per railway employee as against many more available as free or concessional perks to senior categories of officials, according to sources.
The railway employees had been demanding total tax exemption of all free and concessional tickets and PTOs. Last year railway employees’ free tickets were exempted from tax. However, since this exemption was not continued in the budget, these perks had become taxable in the hands ofemployees.
While employees in group A and group B are entitled to six free passes and 12 PTOs in AC2 tier, those in group C are entitled to 3 free passes and six PTOs in AC2 tier.