Punjab travel agent licence: what the 2012 Act demands now

Sell a flight ticket, an outbound package or visa help from a counter in Punjab, and you need a Punjab travel agent licence before you take a single client. The law isn't a tourism rule, it's the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012, which received the Governor's assent on 4 January 2013 and treats arranging foreign travel as a licensed profession. Its Rules took effect in August 2013.

Running without it isn't a paperwork lapse, it's an offence under the Act. Enforcement since the 2025 US deportation flights hasn't let up: Amritsar's district administration was still publishing licence cancellation orders in October 2026.

This guide covers who the Act catches, what the licence costs, the documents it checks, how to apply, and what keeps it valid afterward.

One law, three names, one office

Passed as the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, it was renamed the Punjab Travel Professionals Regulation Act in 2014, and its scope was widened to IELTS coaching institutes, consultancies, ticketing agents and airline GSAs. A September 2014 Home Department memo told DCs to issue licences under the new name. FIRs and court orders use both names, dated sometimes 2012 and sometimes 2014, so don't assume an unfamiliar one is a different law. If you've read our state travel-agent laws roundup, this is the Punjab regime it points at.

The licence comes from your district's Deputy Commissioner, who is also the District Magistrate: a September 2013 notification made the DM and the Additional DM the competent authority, and many cancellation orders carry the ADM's signature. It's a Home Department law, not a tourism one. In May 2026 the Punjab and Haryana High Court said the Act and Rules, along with Haryana's 2025 Act, "appear to be comprehensive legislation" for travel agents, IELTS coaching, ticketing agents and airline GSAs, and disposed of the PILs without further directions (CWP-PIL-90-2023).

Who actually needs this licence

If you sell outbound packages, issue air tickets as an agent, give visa consultancy or guidance, advertise foreign travel online, or work as an airline GSA, you need this licence. Section 2(m) of the Act defines "travel agent" to include processing passport or visa applications, selling air tickets or arranging transport abroad, visa guidance for tourism, study, medical treatment or religion, foreign-travel ads "by means of publication, transmission, communication or internet", and freelancing as a "tout". Recruitment for jobs abroad sits outside this Act, under the Emigration Act (see where the Emigration Act bites).

A domestic-only seller has an argument for sitting outside it, since the wording covers travel "from India to abroad", but we found no ruling on it, and the Rules ask ticketing agents to report domestic tickets too. Treat it as open and ask your district office.

What the licence costs, category by category

Business age	Fresh fee, per category	Renewal fee, per category
Under 5 years	₹25,000 (or ₹10,000 plus 4 x ₹3,750)	₹15,000
Over 5 years	₹1,00,000 (or 5 x ₹20,000)	₹15,000

The 2014 fee notification sets separate fee clauses for agencies (grouped with IELTS coaching and consultancies), ticketing agents and GSAs, and a 2018 Home Department advisory says the fee is "different and separate" for each category. So a package seller who also tickets flights pays for both.

Jalandhar's current fee sheet asks ₹25,000 per category for five years, and ₹15,000 per category to renew, with no higher figure for older firms. That sits below the Rules' ₹1,00,000 slab for firms running over five years. The Rules' instalment wording for the agency slab names only consultancy firms, and the fee sheet shows a single challan, so confirm both the figure and any instalments with your DC office.

Example: A three-year-old Ludhiana agency selling packages and tickets, two categories. Under-five slab: ₹25,000 x 2 = ₹50,000 for five years (or, per category, ₹10,000 plus four ₹3,750 instalments). Had it been running over five years, the Rules slab would be ₹1,00,000 x 2 = ₹2,00,000 (or five ₹20,000 instalments per category). Renewal five years on adds ₹30,000 (₹15,000 x 2). Ten years on the lower slab: ₹80,000 total, about ₹8,000 a year, before rent-deed, Shops Act and affidavit costs, which we haven't priced.

The premises, documents and sureties the DC checks

Under Rule 4 you need at least 100 sq ft, owned or rented, "located in the commercial area of a city or town" or a similarly accessible area. A rented space needs a deed running at least three years from the application (Jalandhar and SAS Nagar want it registered), and the premises must be registered under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958. So don't plan on a spare room at home, unlike a home-based domestic agency.

You'll also need two sureties who file income tax returns (not blood relatives, per SAS Nagar's checklist), an affidavit attested by an Executive Magistrate, PAN, one to three years of ITRs, last year's bank statement, proof of constitution, photos and, in Jalandhar, a premises map. No licence issues until the police verify your particulars (section 4(3)), and the Rules set ninety days for issuing it.

How to apply, and why you shouldn't open early

Where you file depends on your district. SAS Nagar's 2021 SOP sends applications and fees online through the state business portal, which now redirects to FastTrack Punjab; Jalandhar's sheet instead says new-licence files go through a Sewa Kendra. Don't assume one district's process holds elsewhere. SAS Nagar's SOP flags missing documents within two days, then sends the file for police verification before approval.

Get this right first: don't open to clients while the file is pending. The Home Department has told DCs that opening an office before the licence issues counts as undertaking the profession under section 3, and that an applicant with an FIR against them may be refused. Apply, wait, then open.

After the licence: monthly reports, ads and records

Rule 4(6) requires a monthly report of clients and fees charged; ticketing agents email the DC a monthly ticket chart, domestic and international; consultancies report every six months. Jalandhar's February 2026 letter says many licensees aren't filing these reports or applying for renewal on time. The same district also wants a monthly self-declaration that every ad, including on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp or Telegram, was intimated in writing first, and that no post promises overseas job recruitment.

Section 7 of the Act requires you to inform the competent authority in writing, with full details, before any ad, publicity or seminar, and the application affidavit commits you to printing your licence number on every ad. A 2018 advisory (not the Act) adds that licensees should display their licence number at the office and give clients receipts showing receipt number, amount, mode of payment, premises address and GST number. The Rules want client records kept electronically for at least five years, with a soft copy available to the client.

Renewal, surrender and cancellation

A licence runs five years from issue and renews for the same term. File Form-III two months before expiry with a copy of the licence, three years' ITRs, two years' bank statements and the renewal fee (₹15,000 in the Rules, charged per category in Jalandhar). If you renew during 2026-27, those ITRs are returns filed under the Income-tax Act, 1961: the Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026, and its first returns are for tax year 2026-27, filed in 2027. Confirm the years with your CA.

Districts track lapses. Jalandhar has published a list of roughly 250 agents who didn't renew after expiry (February 2025), alongside a licensee register that runs past 1,900 entries.

Closing properly means surrendering, not lapsing: two months' notice, publication in two newspapers, no fee refund, liability continuing for prior acts. The DC can also cancel for a conviction, misrepresentation, lending your name or premises, or three months of not practising, after a seven-day show-cause notice. Appeal to the Principal Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice, within thirty days, with a ₹1,000 demand draft.

What an unlicensed office actually risks

Section 13(1) sets three to seven years in prison plus a fine of up to ₹5 lakh, and section 13(4) doubles the penalty on a repeat conviction under the same provision. That's the backdrop to enforcement you've probably seen: The Tribune reported 1,274 raids, 24 FIRs and 7 arrests across 28 police districts in one drive in February 2025, after that month's US deportation flights, and Scroll reported 40 Amritsar licences cancelled and 17 FIRs between 5 and 23 February. Amritsar's site shows cancellations continuing into October 2026.

Two 2026 High Court bail orders (CRM-M-22426-2026 and CRM-M-36188-2026) show the FIR-stage pattern: police asked the DC office whether a licence existed, the reply said none had been issued, and the FIR paired cheating charges with section 13. Both ended in regular bail, not a verdict. If a complaint reaches you first, our playbook for a police complaint against your agency covers what to do. A licensed, reporting agency isn't under suspicion; the file just has to stay current.

Branches in Punjab, and offices in Haryana or Chandigarh

Under section 5, if you hold a licence for one place in a district and later open a branch or office in another Punjab district, you don't need a fresh licence. You must immediately inform that district's competent authority and DM in writing and get an acknowledgment. The Act doesn't address a second office in the same district, so ask your DC office.

Haryana runs a newer Registration and Regulation of Travel Agents Act, 2025, covering domestic travel too, needing a fresh registration per branch, valid three years against Punjab's five, with two to seven years and a fine of ₹2 to 5 lakh for operating unregistered. As of 5 May 2026 its rules were reportedly still not notified; check current status rather than assume. We found no Chandigarh licensing regime either way, so ask locally.

A 10-point Punjab licence compliance checklist

1. Decide your categories (agency, ticketing agent, consultancy, IELTS, GSA); budget ₹25,000 each under five years, ₹1,00,000 each over.
2. Secure 100 sq ft of commercial premises, owned or on a registered deed of three years or more, and register it under the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act.
3. Line up two sureties who file ITRs, not blood relatives.
4. Collect Form I-A documents (ID, address, DOB proof, PAN, ITRs, bank statement, proof of constitution, photos) plus district extras such as a premises map and official email ID.
5. Swear the affidavit before an Executive Magistrate; apply via FastTrack Punjab or your Sewa Kendra. Don't open before the licence issues.
6. File your monthly client and fee report (ticketing agents: also the ticket chart) and any self-declaration your district wants.
7. Intimate every ad, reel or seminar in writing first, with your licence number on it.
8. Display your licence number at the office; issue receipts showing receipt number, amount, mode, address and GSTIN.
9. Keep client records electronically for at least five years; share a soft copy if asked.
10. Diary the expiry: renew two months before it, or surrender with two months' notice; inform the DC and DM in writing as soon as you open a branch in another district.

A suggested monthly register, proformas differ by district:

Sr. / month	Client details	Service and date	Fee and receipt
e.g. 14, Nov'26	Name, phone, PAN/passport	Package, ticket (dom/intl) or visa help, travel date	Amount, receipt no., mode

Common questions

Punjab mein travel agency licence kaise le?

Apply to your district's DC, online via FastTrack Punjab or through your Sewa Kendra, with Form I-A, premises and surety documents, and the fee per category. Police verification follows, and the Rules set ninety days for issuing the licence.

Do I need a licence just to sell air tickets in Punjab?

Yes. Section 2(m)(b)(i) names acting as an agent for selling air tickets, and the Rules require ticketing agents to report tickets sold monthly, so a pure ticketing counter is covered just like a package seller.

Does one licence cover my branch in another district?

Yes, within Punjab. Section 5 needs no fresh licence for a branch in another district, only immediate written intimation to that district's competent authority and DM, with an acknowledgment. Haryana's 2025 Act instead wants fresh registration per branch.

The short version

• Punjab's 2012 Act (renamed the Travel Professionals Regulation Act in 2014) requires a five-year DC licence for agencies, ticketing agents, visa consultancies, IELTS coaching and GSAs; running unlicensed is punishable with three to seven years in prison plus a fine up to ₹5 lakh under section 13(1), doubled on repeat conviction.
• The fee is per category: ₹25,000 under five years in business, ₹1,00,000 over five, per the Rules, though Jalandhar's fee sheet asks ₹25,000 with no age split. Confirm with your DC office.
• You need 100 sq ft of commercial premises, owned or on a deed of at least three years, two income-tax-paying sureties and police verification before issue.
• Apply through your own district's route, file monthly client and ticket reports, and intimate the DC before every ad.
• Renew in Form-III two months before expiry; districts kept publishing cancellation orders through 2026.
• A branch in another Punjab district needs intimation, not a second licence; Haryana's newer per-branch law reportedly had no notified rules as of May 2026.