West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board (WBJEEB) has decided to refund the application fee for the cancelled Presidency University Bachelors Degree Entrance Test (PUBDET), a notification said.

Students' Federation of India (SFI)-controlled Presidency University Students' Union and rival Independents' Consolidation (IC) students' bodies had demanded immediate refund of Rs 500 taken as application fee from each candidate.

"The PUBDET 2020 examination and counselling which were to be conducted by WBJEEB were cancelled due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

WBJEEB will shortly arrange to refund the application fee for the examination paid by the candidates," the board said in a notification on Wednesday.

Presidency University Students' Council (PUSC) president Mimosa Ghorai and other office-bearers had earlier sent a letter to the WBJEEB chairman pointing out that though the cancellation notice had been published on August 13, there was a delay in notifying that the amount for the application forms would be refunded to students which would have helped them in the "economically hard times".

In a separate statement, the IC said, "Following the movement organised by Independents' Consolidation, The WBJEEB has finally issued an official notification regarding the refund of application fee for the cancelled PUBDET examinations".

The amount will be refunded in the bank account of the student concerned and a message will be sent accordingly, a university source said.