GST Council may consider imposing 18% tax on payment aggregators for small transactions up to Rs 2,000

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which is scheduled to meet on September 9 for its next meeting, may consider levying an 18% GST on payment aggregators (PAs), such as BillDesk and CCAvenue, for small digital transactions up to Rs 2,000, via debit and credit cards.

A report from CNBC TV18 indicated that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Fitment Panel has expressed the viewpoint that payment aggregators serve as intermediaries for transactions and therefore should not be classified as banks. Consequently, the fitment committee leans towards the imposition of GST on these Payment Aggregators (PAs). As per the existing regulations, payment aggregators are currently exempt from GST on transactions amounting to less than Rs 2,000.

More than 80% of the total digital payments in India consist of transactions below Rs 2,000 in value. As per a government notification issued during demonetisation in 2016, payments aggregators were refrained from levying tax on the services offered to merchants on these transactions.

Recently, the authorities have initiated efforts to collect taxes starting from the FY2017-18, coinciding with the implementation of the GST regime. This development is occurring amid speculation that the GST Council may provide clarification on the taxation of such transactions following its upcoming meeting next week.

Payment aggregators currently charge merchants a fee from 0.5% to 2% per transaction. The imposition of GST may result in them passing on this extra cost to merchants. Currently, payment aggregators are not liable to pay GST on transactions below Rs 2,000 as they facilitate a range of digital payment methods such as QR codes, POS machines, and net banking.

If 18% GST is imposed on small-value transaction, it could affect small businesses that depend on frequent low-value transactions. However, merchants engaged in high-value transactions, the proposed additional 18% tax on payment gateway fees may not pose a substantial financial burden.

Let’s break down a transaction of Rs 1,000: with the current system’s 1% payment gateway fee, the merchant incurs a charge of Rs 10. Following the implementation of the proposed GST, this fee would elevate to ₹11.80—representing a slight uptick, yet an increment that can accumulate rapidly across numerous transactions.

Boost to UPI

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is currently the most popular form of digital payment, particularly for small-value transactions, which has resulted in a limited overall impact on digital transactions. In the fiscal year 2024, UPI experienced a remarkable 57% Year over Year (YoY) growth in transaction volume, exceeding 131 billion transactions.

It’s noteworthy that UPI now contributes to more than 80% of the total retail digital payments in India. A critical point to consider is that the GST is applicable only to digital transactions conducted through debit and credit cards. As UPI transactions currently do not incur a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), they will remain unaffected by the tax.

Consequently, for transactions under Rs 2,000, UPI continues to be a cost-free option for both merchants and customers, making it a highly appealing payment method.