Now Reading: Rajya Sabha Clears Taxation Bill; No UPI Charges for Users
-
01
Rajya Sabha Clears Taxation Bill; No UPI Charges for Users
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 Story in Brief
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.
The Indian Opinion
The noise around UPI charges hides a simple truth: the bill is an enabling provision, not a levy. The Finance Minister has repeatedly said users will not pay. Yet the RBI governor hints someone must bear costs eventually. The real fight is between zero-MDR advocates and those who want large merchants to pay a tiny fee. Watch what the NPCI committee decides on the threshold and rate, that will tell us whether the poor or the profitable get squeezed.
Sources (2): ndtv.com, inc42.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
