Congress disputes Parliamentary panel chief’s claim on levying UPI MDR

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Congress leader Manish Tewari said the committee’s recommendation was only to “explore” a revenue model for sustaining the UPI ecosystem. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

The Congress on Friday (September 18, 2026) contested Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance chairperson Bhartruhari Mahtab’s reported assertion that Opposition members had supported the panel’s recommendation to explore a merchant discount rate (MDR) on high-value UPI transactions, calling the claim “erroneous and fallacious”.

Congress MP Manish Tewari, a member of the committee, said the suggestion that Opposition members had endorsed the proposal by not recording a dissent was “unfounded and unfortunate”.

“With great respect, this is both erroneous and fallacious and therefore facetious,” Mr. Tewari said, referring to the BJP MP’s assertion that the Congress MPs on the panel endorsed the move.

Responding to reports quoting Mr. Mahtab as saying that the presence of Opposition members and their participation in the panel’s report were matters of record, Mr. Tewari said the committee’s recommendation was only to “explore” a revenue model for sustaining the UPI ecosystem.

“The core of the committee’s recommendation...is as follows: ‘The Committee recommend that while the proposed 3-year multi-year scheme and cash back components are 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 said in a post on X.

Mr. Tewari said the government’s subsequent action-taken report, laid in the Lok Sabha on August 12, similarly 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’,” he said, adding that the proposal to actually levy a transaction fee or MDR on UPI and other digital payments had never subsequently come up before the committee.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, tagging Mr. Tewari’s post, said Mr. Mahtab was “otherwise a seasoned and sober Parliamentarian but is 2024 Batch Odisha cadre of the BJP”. “This explains his eagerness to mislead and misinform,” Mr. Ramesh said on X.

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

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