By Ziyara.io 9 min read
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It is November in Hyderabad. A father pays for four seats on your December group — ₹4.6 lakh by bank transfer — and asks for the receipt on WhatsApp. Before you send it, Indian law has already decided two things about that payment, and neither has anything to do with Saudi Arabia. Your invoice carries GST. And you collect 2% of the package amount from him as tax at source — ₹9,200 — and pay it to the government in his name.
Most "how to start an Umrah agency" advice skips both. This guide is the Indian side of How to start an Umrah travel agency: what you register, what every package carries, how the Saudi side works for an agency in India, and why Hajj is a separate door that Umrah opens later.
The short answer: India has no licence that is specific to Umrah. You need a registered business with PAN, GST registration (one group usually takes you past the threshold), a TAN so you can collect tax at source, and a contract with a licensed Saudi Umrah company. Since 1 April 2026 every overseas tour package carries 2% TCS, collected from the pilgrim. Ministry of Tourism approval and IATA accreditation are optional. Hajj is different: it needs registration as a Hajj Group Organiser with the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the newest route into it is built on your Umrah record.
What an Umrah agency in India actually needs
| What | Who issues it | Required? | Why it matters for Umrah |
|---|---|---|---|
| A business — proprietorship, LLP or private limited company — with a PAN | Registrar of Companies / Income Tax Department | Yes | Contracts, a business bank account, and the tax registrations below |
| GST registration | GST portal | Yes, once your turnover passes the threshold (₹20 lakh for services in most states) | Every package invoice carries GST |
| TAN | Income Tax Department | Yes, before your first deposit | You cannot collect or deposit TCS without it |
| A contract with a licensed Saudi Umrah company | The Saudi company, registered on Nusuk Masar | Yes | Visas, hotel bookings and ground services run through it |
| Ministry of Tourism approval | Ministry of Tourism (NIDHI+) | No — voluntary | A recognised badge of trust for customers and partners |
| IATA accreditation | IATA | No | Only if you want to issue air tickets yourself |
| Hajj Group Organiser registration | Ministry of Minority Affairs (Haj Division) | Only for Hajj | A separate quota with its own entry bar |
Step 1 — A business that can take money
Choose the structure with your chartered accountant. A proprietorship is the quickest to open; an LLP or a private limited company separates your personal liability from the agency's and reads as more established to banks and to the Saudi company you will contract with. Open a current account in the business name and take every payment into it — a clean trail is what makes the GST and TCS returns simple.
GST. Register before your first group: forty pilgrims at even ₹1 lakh each is ₹40 lakh, twice the threshold. Tour operator services can be billed in two ways — 5% on the package without input tax credit (except on services bought from another tour operator), or 18% with full credit. Which one comes out cheaper depends on how much of your cost carries GST you could reclaim. Settle it with your CA before you print a price list, because the price a pilgrim sees should already include it. (These are the options as of October 2026, after the September 2025 rate changes; check the current rate notification before you set prices.)
TAN. Apply for your Tax deduction and collection Account Number as soon as the business exists. Without it you cannot deposit the TCS that the next step is about.
Step 2 — TCS: the 2% every package carries
When you sell an overseas tour programme package — and an Umrah package is one — you collect tax at source from the buyer and pay it to the government.
- Rate: 2% of the package amount since 1 April 2026, with no threshold. Union Budget 2026 replaced the earlier slabs of 5% up to ₹10 lakh and 20% above them.
- Where the rule lives: section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which took over from section 206C(1G) of the 1961 Act on the same date.
- When: at the earlier of receiving the money or debiting the buyer's account. A deposit carries TCS too, not only the final installment.
- What you do: collect it, deposit it by the due date, file the quarterly TCS return and give each buyer a TCS certificate (Forms 27EQ and 27D at the time of writing).
- PAN: collect the payer's PAN when the pilgrim registers. Without it, a higher rate applies.
Explain TCS to families before they pay, not after. It is not an extra charge that you keep: it is credited to the payer's PAN and counts against their income tax for the year, or comes back as a refund. Put it on the invoice as its own line, under the package price, and say what it is. "Tax on Umrah" is a sentence that loses customers when it arrives as a surprise.
Step 3 — The Saudi side: an external agent, not a visa office
An agency in India does not issue Umrah visas and does not register with the Saudi ministry by itself. It works as the external agent of a licensed Saudi Umrah company. That company contracts you and registers the contract on Nusuk Masar, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah's platform for service providers; the hotel bookings and visa applications for your groups then run through it. You can check whether an agency is listed with the public lookup of qualified external agents on Nusuk Masar — and a cautious customer can check you the same way.
Two Saudi rules shape your calendar more than anything in India:
- Hotel before visa. Since June 2025 a visa is issued only after the pilgrims' accommodation has been booked in licensed hotels and documented on Nusuk Masar. The Nusuk rules guide has the season calendar.
- Thirty days to enter. Since November 2025 an Umrah visa is cancelled automatically if the pilgrim has not entered Saudi Arabia within 30 days of issue. Book flights and file visas as one timetable — the visa processing guide walks through it.
Choose the Saudi company as carefully as a business partner. Ask other agency owners who they use, who they stopped using and why, and get in writing what it needs from you, by when, and what happens to your money if a group does not travel.
Step 4 — Credentials that build trust (optional)
Ministry of Tourism approval. Recognition of travel agents and tour operators is voluntary — you can run an agency without it. Applications now go through the Ministry's NIDHI+ portal, which starts by verifying the business's PAN, and the approval can be withdrawn after serious complaints. It is worth having once you have a season behind you, because it gives a family a government record to check before handing over a deposit.
IATA accreditation. You need it only to issue air tickets yourself, and it comes with financial security and staffing requirements. Many Umrah agencies start by buying group seats through airline group desks or consolidators and apply later, once the volume is there.
Hajj is a separate door — and Umrah is the key
Private Hajj seats in India go through Hajj Group Organisers (HGOs) registered with the Ministry of Minority Affairs, which apply on the HGO portal each year. Under the Haj Policy 2026, 70% of India's quota goes to the Haj Committee and 30% to HGOs. Because Saudi Arabia now deals only with entities of at least 2,000 pilgrims, the HGO Policy for Haj 2027 groups organisers into Combined HGOs — 26 of them sharing a private quota of 52,507 pilgrims, each led by an experienced organiser and backed by at least ₹75 crore of combined Hajj and Umrah turnover.
For a new agency the important line is the category for new HGO applicants: at least two Umrah operations in the preceding five financial years, ₹1.5 crore of Umrah turnover in one of the last two financial years, a security deposit of ₹20 lakh and an office of at least 200 sq ft. In other words, the route into Hajj starts with well-documented Umrah seasons — clean GST returns, deposited TCS and groups that travelled on time.
A first-group checklist
- Business, PAN and current account open; GST and TAN registered.
- A signed contract with a licensed Saudi Umrah company, and your listing checked on Nusuk Masar.
- A package price that includes GST, with the 2% TCS shown as its own line.
- At registration, every pilgrim's passport details, documents and the payer's PAN.
- The Saudi company's data deadline in your calendar, working back from the hotel booking.
- Every deposit receipted, with TCS collected on it.
- TCS deposited and the quarterly return filed; certificates sent to every payer.
How Ziyara fits
Ziyara keeps each pilgrim's passport details, documents and installments in one record, sends payment reminders and prints receipts, rooming lists and the data your Saudi company asks for — in rupees as well as other currencies. It does not file GST or TCS returns and it does not connect to Nusuk: your CA files the returns, and the Saudi company submits the visas. What Ziyara does is make sure that, on the day they ask, every number they need is already in one place.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to open an Umrah travel agency in India?
There is no licence specific to Umrah. You need a registered business with PAN, GST registration once your turnover passes the threshold, a TAN for collecting TCS, and a contract with a licensed Saudi Umrah company. Ministry of Tourism approval is voluntary, and Hajj needs a separate registration as a Hajj Group Organiser.
How much TCS is charged on an Umrah package from India?
2% of the package amount since 1 April 2026, with no threshold. Before that it was 5% up to ₹10 lakh and 20% above. The agency collects it from the person paying and deposits it; it is credited against that person's PAN and counts towards their income tax.
Is GST charged on Umrah packages?
Yes. A tour operator can charge 5% on the package without input tax credit, or 18% with full credit. Agree the method with your chartered accountant before you publish prices.
Do I need IATA accreditation to sell Umrah packages?
No. You need it only to issue air tickets yourself. Many Umrah agencies buy group seats through airline group desks or consolidators.
Can a new agency organise Hajj?
Not in its first season. Private Hajj seats go to Hajj Group Organisers registered with the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and even the category for new applicants asks for at least two Umrah operations in the preceding five financial years, ₹1.5 crore of Umrah turnover and a ₹20 lakh security deposit. Umrah is where that record is built.
Sources
- Ministry of Minority Affairs — HGO Policy for Haj 2027 (PDF, via the Haj Committee of India)
- Haj Committee of India — Haj Policy 2026 (PDF)
- HGO portal — Ministry of Minority Affairs
- Ministry of Tourism — NIDHI+ portal
- Income Tax Department
- Careers360 / PTI — Budget 2026: TCS cut to 2% on overseas tours
- Taxscan — Budget 2026: TCS on foreign tours cut to 2%
- CBIC — GST rates for goods and services
This guide was written with the help of AI tools. If you spot a mistake, please write to us at info@ziyara.io
