The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant an interim stay on the Centre’s decision to levy a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on specified commercial UPI transactions above Rs 2,000.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued a notification outlining the charges for merchants receiving digital payments through UPI. As per the notification, transactions above Rs 2,000 will attract a 0.4% fee, with the MDR capped at Rs 300 even for transactions of Rs 75,000 or more.
For transactions in essential sectors such as railways, telecommunications and fuel, a flat fee of Rs 5 has been specified. UPI payments linked to stock market trading will attract a charge of 0.02%, according to the notification.
The matter reached the apex court through a public interest petition filed by advocate Anjan Dutta seeking a stay on the decision. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant noted that users are exempt and the fee is to be collected from merchants, as submitted by Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman.
Stating that an interim stay could not be granted, the court observed that the issue appeared more technical than purely legal. It issued notices to the Centre, the Reserve Bank of India and NPCI, seeking their responses within four weeks.
