Patna: Traders and industry representatives in the state capital, along with the main opposition RJD, expect that the fee charged on UPI transactions above Rs2,000 will eventually be passed on to consumers.“No trader will pay the fee from his own pocket” and “the consumer will have to bear the burden” were the common refrains among traders contacted for their reaction to the Centre’s decision on Tuesday to charge a 0.4% fee on UPI transactions worth more than Rs2,000.Technically, banks that accept digital payments charge traders for processing the merchant discount rate (MDR), said an expert.Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) president P K Agrawal said, “If the margin of profit on the sale or purchase of a product is less, then the trader will be in loss if he pays the fee on a transaction worth more than Rs2,000. The trader concerned will be forced to pass on the fee to the consumer. There is no doubt about it.”Agrawal also said BCCI office-bearers had held two informal meetings on the issue and the general impression was the same. The Bihar Industry Association (BIA) has not yet discussed the matter.A chartered accountant and former BIA functionary, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “The fee charged at 0.4% is very high. It should have been 0.01 or 0.02%. The present policy is highly condemnable.“Think of a simple thing. If a family goes to a hotel and the bill is Rs5,000, the 0.4% fee on the UPI transaction will be high and, in fact, an additional burden.”Among political functionaries, RJD working president Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said, “There is nothing left on which people don’t have to pay tax, cess or duty. Now the central govt has left only air on which there is no fee or tax. This is what PM Narendra Modi’s cashless economy and Digital India have come to be. It is an atrocious policy.”
