Travel Agencies Act, 1976

The Travel Agencies Act, 1976 regulates the business of running a travel agency in Pakistan, requiring agencies to be licensed and setting rules on their fees, guarantees, and conduct. It covers agencies that arrange travel, transport, lodging, sightseeing, or ticket sales for tourists, whether Pakistani or foreign.

Section 3 sets up a Travel Agencies Regulatory Committee that advises the government, approves service-charge rates, advises on licence fees, and helps prepare a code of conduct for the industry. Section 4 requires anyone operating or planning to operate a travel agency to apply for a licence, which the government can refuse if the applicant has a conviction involving moral turpitude, is a minor or of unsound mind, lacks the financial standing or experience to run the business, or does not meet minimum office and staffing standards. A licence lasts one year and can be renewed annually, or for up to five years at the agency's option. Section 5 exempts state enterprises, national and foreign airlines, and Hajj/pilgrimage-handling agencies from the Act.

Section 6 bans operating as a travel agency without a licence, and bans airlines from delegating sales authority to unlicensed agents. Section 7 requires licensed agencies to maintain a business guarantee fund (or bank guarantee) in a scheduled bank, from which the government can order payment to a tourist, carrier, or hotel owed money that the agency hasn't settled within thirty days; the agency must then replenish the fund within fifteen days. Section 8 requires agencies to post their approved service-charge rate list publicly.

Section 11 lets the government suspend a licence for up to six months, or cancel it, if an agency breaks the Act, rules, licence conditions, or code of conduct, or suspends business without notice for more than six months. Section 12 lets travellers complain to the Committee, and Section 13 provides an appeal to the Federal Government. Section 14 sets the penalty for violations at a fine of up to twenty-five thousand rupees, and requires that prosecutions be authorised by the Federal Government.

This is an older law from 1976, amended at least once (in 1996, extending licence renewal terms), so specific figures like the twenty-five-thousand-rupee fine cap should be checked against the current official text before being relied upon.