# Rajya Sabha Clears Taxation Bill; No UPI Charges for Users 2026-08-10T17:59:12+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Parliament today cleared The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, after a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ruled out any immediate charge on UPI users, calling the amendment an enabling provision. The bill empowers the government to notify electronic payment modes that will receive statutory protection. Separately, the UPI and Services Steering Committee, headed by NPCI, will consider whether to introduce a merchant discount rate (MDR) on certain payments. Inc42 reports the government is mulling an MDR of 0.05-0.07% on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 for merchants with annual turnover exceeding Rs 1 crore. Peer-to-peer payments will remain exempt. RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra said MDR talks are at a premature stage but noted someone must ultimately pay for transactions. ## Coverage - ndtv.com - inc42.com Tags: digital payments, Nirmala Sitharaman, Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Taxation Bill, UPI Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rajya-sabha-clears-taxation-bill-upi-charges-ruled-out/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rajya-sabha-clears-taxation-bill-upi-charges-ruled-out/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.