KOLKATA: The All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) and the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) on Wednesday called off their proposed ‘No UPI Day’ protest on October 2, after a trade delegation met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, officials said on Wednesday.
The mobile retailers association had earlier announced the 'No UPI Day' protest on October 2 against the proposed 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, saying the charge would put additional burden on small retailers.
The delegation, led by BJP MP and CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal and AIMRA founder chairman Kailash Lakhyani, submitted a joint representation, seeking deferment of the proposed MDR, a phased implementation and changes in the threshold for its applicability, according to an official statement.
The trade bodies also sought exemption of merchant-to-merchant (M2M) transactions from the MDR, and the constitution of an expert committee to examine the concerns of the retail and distribution sector.
The delegation proposed that instead of an immediate 0.40-per cent MDR, the charge be introduced at 0.20 per cent in 2026-27 and increased by 0.05 percentage points annually until it reaches 0.40 per cent.
It also sought raising the proposed Rs 1 lakh threshold for MDR applicability to Rs 5 lakh, saying the move would take into account the transaction patterns of merchants, the statement said.
Sitharaman heard the concerns and assured the delegation that the issues would be duly considered and addressed, following which the AIMRA and AICPDF decided to withdraw the October 2 protest, the associations said in the release.
AIMRA had earlier said the proposed MDR would affect the “already thin” profit margins of micro, small and medium enterprises, shopkeepers and independent retailers, who rely on digital payments for day-to-day transactions.
