PM Modi shoots down ‘foreign travel tax’ rumour in rare public rebuttal

The report, originally published by CNBC-TV18, suggested that a proposal to impose a surcharge on overseas travel was being examined at senior levels of the government.

However, the Prime Minister dismissed the claim outright, calling it baseless.

'Not even an iota of truth”: PM’s strong X post response

Taking to social media platform X, Modi said the report had no factual basis and rejected it in clear terms.

“This is totally false. Not an iota of truth in this. There is no question of putting such restrictions on foreign travel,” he wrote, adding that the government remains committed to improving both “Ease of Doing Business” and “Ease of Living”.

His direct response is unusual, as Prime Ministers rarely publicly counter individual media reports in such explicit terms.

CNBC-TV18 withdraws story, issues apology

Shortly after the Prime Minister’s rebuttal, CNBC-TV18 issued a clarification on X, withdrawing its report and admitting it was inaccurate.

“Our story on government considering tax/cess on foreign travel is not accurate. We withdraw the story and regret the error,” the network said.

Report had cited fiscal pressure from global conflict

The withdrawn report had claimed—citing unnamed sources—that the proposed cess was being discussed to offset fiscal pressures linked to global tensions, including the economic impact of the ongoing Iran-related conflict.

It also suggested that the finance ministry had not commented on the proposal.

The clarification also comes days after Modi urged citizens to use fuel responsibly, citing global economic uncertainty.

At a public event, he had encouraged reduced fuel consumption, greater use of public transport, and restraint in non-essential foreign travel to conserve resources and foreign exchange.