Congress Rebuts Finance Panel Chief's Claim of Opposition Backing for UPI MDR

The Congress on Friday pushed back against Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance chairperson Bhartruhari Mahtab's reported claim that Opposition members had backed the panel's recommendation to examine a merchant discount rate (MDR) on high-value UPI transactions, describing the assertion as "erroneous and fallacious".

Manish Tewari, a Congress MP on the committee, said the suggestion that Opposition members had endorsed the proposal by declining to record a dissent was "unfounded and unfortunate". He rejected the BJP MP's contention that the Congress members on the panel had supported the move.

Tewari said the committee's recommendation was limited to "exploring" a revenue model for sustaining the UPI ecosystem. Quoting the report, he said the panel had recommended that while a proposed three-year multi-year scheme and cash-back components were necessary to democratise digital payments in untapped Tier 3-6 cities, the Department of Financial Services must concurrently explore a self-reliant, tiered revenue model.

He also pointed to the government's action-taken report, laid in the Lok Sabha on August 12, which stated that the Department of Financial Services was "currently exploring" two options — restoring MDR for certain high-threshold transactions and adopting a tiered incentive structure to phase out government support. "The key word is 'explore'," Tewari said, adding that a proposal to actually levy a transaction fee or MDR on UPI and other digital payments had never subsequently come before the committee.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, tagging Tewari's post, said Mahtab was "otherwise a seasoned and sober Parliamentarian but is 2024 Batch Odisha cadre of the BJP", adding that this explained "his eagerness to mislead and misinform".

The Congress had also rejected on Thursday the government's assertion that its MPs had backed the UPI fee proposal.