Petition in Supreme Court says scrap new UPI merchant fees; may burden consumers

The petition said the new charge was imposed within the merchant-payment ecosystem, but businesses could seek to recover the additional cost from customers

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, challenging the Centre’s newly notified framework allowing Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on specified high-value commercial UPI transactions, contending that the additional cost could ultimately be passed on to consumers.

The petition, filed by advocate Anjan Datta, seeks the quashing of the notifications issued by the Union finance ministry on September 14 and 15. The Union government, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the UPI & Services Steering Committee are respondents in the petition.