Bhubaneswar: Amid the ongoing debate over UPI transactions, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Friday said the interests of the common people and small traders should be protected.
Soon after his arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar following a ten-day visit to New Delhi, the former chief minister raised concerns over the new UPI transaction charges, and said the welfare of common citizens and small business owners must remain a priority.
“The shopkeepers’ interests should be protected,” the BJD chief said while responding to queries from reporters.
The BJD supremo’s remarks come amid demands to withdraw the fee from small retailers, petroleum dealers and brokers, who argued that their margins would be affected.
Senior BJD vice president Debi Prasad Mishra, who was present at the airport, said that Naveen held discussions with senior leaders during his Delhi visit. A large crowd of party workers and supporters gathered at the airport to welcome the BJD supremo.
Traders say that the imposition of the Government’s new levy Merchant Discount Rate on UPI payments will inevitably force them to relay the burden of this tax to the ordinary consumer.
The issue has drawn attention particularly over its possible impact on small merchants that increasingly depend on digital payments for everyday transactions.
Meanwhile, the Central government maintained that the new UPI framework introduced has no impact on any person to person transactions. UPI will continue to remain completely free for all person-to-person transactions, irrespective of the amount transferred, it said.
“Payments to merchants up to Rs 2,000, along with transactions covered under the zero-MDR framework for small merchants, will also remain free. Consequently, approximately 96% of all P2M transactions will remain unaffected. MDR will apply only to specified merchant transactions above Rs 2,000,” said Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Odisha Congress had strongly criticised the Union government over the issue, comparing the 0.4 per cent MDR on UPI transactions with the historic ‘Jizya tax’. Senior Congress leader Sonali Sahoo alleged at a press press meet that the centre had been resorting to various tactics to extract money from poor workers, labourers and the working class for the past 12 years.
