NEW DELHI: Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday criticised the Modi government for attempting to impose a “Digital Payments Tax” by laying the groundwork to levy charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions over Rs 2,000.
In an X post, Kharge criticised the move, calling it a direct burden on a public already struggling with high inflation.
“The Modi government’s loot has now reached UPI. “No fees on UPI” has been changed to “no fees on UPI transactions up to Rs 2,000.” Sky-high inflation has already emptied the common man’s pocket. Wholesale inflation is near 10%, and the BJP government has planned to impose a “Digital Payments Tax” on the public, aiming to destroy whatever little savings they have left,” he said.
The Congress National President slammed the central government’s “biggest flip-flop,” recalling that demonetisation was originally promoted as a step toward a cashless economy.
He questioned reports suggesting potential charges of up to Rs 25 on Rs 5,000 transactions and Rs 50 on Rs 10,000 transactions, warning that any Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) passed onto merchants would ultimately hurt end consumers through increased prices.
“Ten years ago, demonetization delivered a shock to the country’s economy. When questions were raised about the disastrous outcomes of demonetization, the government argued that it was imposed to promote Digital Payments and a Cashless Economy. The Finance Minister had recently stated in Parliament that no Tax or Charges would be levied on UPI, but according to several reports: A potential collection of Rs 25 on a Rs 5,000 transaction and up to Rs 50 on Rs 10,000. Is this true?” he questioned.
Kharge alleged that instead of providing relief to the inflation-weary public, the Modi government is searching for a new way every day to rob their pockets.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh cautioned that the arbitrary transaction cap could easily be altered through future notifications to cover person-to-person transfers.
“It is evident that the groundwork is being laid to collect fees on UPI transactions from all of us. Tomorrow, through another similar notification, this limit could also be altered—there is now no guarantee of this in the law. As far as we know, the government could impose charges even on everyday person-to-person UPI transactions,” he wrote on X.
Ramesh slammed the Modi government, saying that it has once again demonstrated a complete lack of honesty and transparency and has betrayed users’ trust.
“Is all this being done with the intent of opening up digital payments for American companies to please President Trump?” he asked.
The remarks follow the Finance Ministry’s notification stating that UPI transactions of up to Rs 2,000 cannot attract any direct or indirect charge from banks or system providers, effectively keeping around 96 per cent of UPI transactions by volume within the zero-charge threshold.
