The University Grants Commission has sought intervention from governors’ offices over colleges and universities failing to follow its fee-refund policy. A letter dated 7 October 2026, published on the UGC website on 16 October, asks for enforcement of existing directions after complaints remained unresolved. It does not announce a fresh refund deadline for the current admission season.
Addressed to principal secretaries to governors, the letter from UGC Secretary Shyama Rath says forwarding grievances, holding consultations and following up with institutions have not produced the desired compliance. It seeks intervention to caution institutions against further violations. The publicly available document attaches earlier circulars. Its complaint references are the commission’s account of the problem, not findings against every institution.
Read the admission year before applying a deadline
The attached 12 June 2024 policy illustrates why dates need care. For the 2024-25 session, it provided a full refund for cancellations or migrations up to 30 September 2024, followed by a processing deduction capped at Rs 1,000 up to 31 October 2024. Admission schedules extending or starting after that date were linked to the October 2018 notification. Those printed dates cannot simply be relabelled as October 2026.
A separate UGC letter dated 27 October 2025, available from Tezpur University, says the 2024-25 policy continues until replaced and specifies a 31 October 2025 cut-off. It also tells institutions to use the respective earlier academic-year cut-offs when resolving old cases. This distinguishes a continuing policy framework from a particular year’s calendar deadline. The new intervention letter itself supplies no replacement 2026 calendar.
Under the October 2018 notification, refund bands depend on when an institution receives withdrawal notice relative to its formally notified last admission date. The bands are 100% at least 15 days before that date; 90% less than 15 days before; 80% up to 15 days after; and 50% more than 15 but no more than 30 days after. Beyond 30 days, the band is zero.
For the first band, the notification allows processing charges of up to 5% of fees paid, capped at Rs 5,000. Caution money and security deposits outside the fees are refundable in full. It also requires payment to an eligible student within 15 days of receiving a written refund application. These provisions must be read with the applicable session-specific directions, rather than treated as a promise that every withdrawal attracts the same refund. The notification also provides for action against non-compliant institutions, including withholding grants or recommending withdrawal of affiliation. It requires an adequate opportunity for the institution to be heard before action is taken.
The grievance route and its different clocks
The 2023 student-grievance regulations recognise delayed or denied refunds due to students withdrawing within the prospectus timeline, subject to UGC directions. Complaints go to the institution’s Students’ Grievance Redressal Committee. Its report and recommendations should preferably reach the competent authority, with a copy to the student, within 15 working days of receipt. That wording is a preferred reporting period, not a guaranteed date for money to arrive.
A student dissatisfied with the committee’s decision may appeal to the ombudsperson within 15 days of receiving it. The ombudsperson must make all efforts to resolve the grievance within 30 days of receiving the appeal. Institutions must prominently display committee and ombudsperson information on their websites and in prospectuses. The regulations also require prospectuses to disclose refundable percentages, the method of refund and the time allowed for payment.
UGC’s e-Samadhaan information page describes another channel for registering and tracking grievances. A complaint receives an identifier and is assigned to the relevant institutional nodal officer or UGC bureau. The page lists 20 working days as the maximum time to reply to student grievances. A reply deadline is different from a refund award or proof that an institution has paid.
Admission-specific rules also need to be read separately. Dalimss News has covered Gurugram University’s B.Pharm application dates and fees and Tamil Nadu’s direction against upfront fees for eligible SC and ST medical students. Those reports concern their own admission processes; they do not establish a universal refund amount under this UGC intervention.
