NEW DELHI: A fierce political battle has erupted over the Centre’s new UPI merchant pricing framework, with Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanding its immediate rollback and accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of putting a “tax” on Indians.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government’s move would ultimately burden ordinary Indians and accused the Modi government of giving a “huge amount of money” to the United States. He also invoked former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi while attacking the Centre over the decision.
The Congress leader said Modi should “stand up” and roll back what he called the “UPI tax”, escalating the opposition’s attack over the revised merchant charges.
Under the new framework, a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will apply from October 15 to specified merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000. Person-to-person UPI transfers and smaller payments remain outside the charge.
The Centre, however, has rejected the description of the MDR as a tax. The Finance Ministry said the charge is paid within the payment ecosystem and maintained that consumers will not be charged directly or allowed to be passed the MDR burden by merchants.
The UPI pricing decision has now become a major political flashpoint, with the Congress demanding a rollback while the government insists the revised framework is aimed at sustaining the digital payments ecosystem.
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