States » WestPosted at: Sep 19 2026 8:26PM


MNS Chief Raj Thackeray slams new UPI MDR charges as a "digital trap", asks trading community to refuse payment

Mumbai, Sep 19 (UNI) Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has launched a scathing broadside against the Central government over the upcoming implementation of the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) on high-value Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, denouncing the framework as a calculated "digital trap". He has called upon the trading community to strongly resist and refuse payment of the new levies.
Beginning October 15, 2026, person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions exceeding ₹2,000 will attract a 0.4% MDR, coupled with an 18% GST levied on the processing fee.
While the administration maintains that the backend charges are designed to support digital infrastructure resilience and will be absorbed by commercial entities rather than direct consumers, opposition voices have intensified.
Addressing the media, Thackeray accused the Centre of initially popularizing digital transactions through aggressive promotions, only to spring a financial surprise once citizens and businesses became entirely dependent on the ecosystem.
"The government first deployed demonetisation narratives, promoted digital adoption, and sang its own praises before suddenly imposing fees on these transactions," Thackeray stated.
"Citizens have been kept in the dark and gently led into a digital trap. I have been warning for years not to remain complacent; this government's door-to-door intrusion has officially begun."
Questioning the underlying intent and fiscal planning of the digital payments framework, the MNS leader asked why provisions for long-term maintenance and cybersecurity were not permanently secured through regular budgetary allocations if the original vision for UPI was genuinely altruistic.
Dismissing official assurances that merchants will absorb the 0.4% MDR without passing the financial burden downstream, Thackeray remarked that no structural mechanism or enforcement tool exists to prevent businesses from recovering these costs directly from everyday shoppers.
Taking a sarcastic swipe at tax policies, he quipped that the finance ministry would likely tax human respiration if possible, and has effectively compensated by layering an 18% GST over the new MDR charges.
While refraining from directly commenting on allegations of foreign or American trade pressures raised by other political outfits, Thackeray maintained that the policy reflects external compromises exploited to fill state coffers.
Declaring that the micro-economics of the charges represent a fundamental breach of trust, he called upon the trading community across the state to strongly resist and refuse payment of the new levies, marking the MNS's formal opposition to the framework.
UNI NEP RN
Tags: #MNS Chief Raj Thackeray slams new UPI MDR charges as a "digital trap"# asks trading community to refuse payment
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