Commercial markets and retail establishments across Saharanpur witnessed vocal protests on Sunday as hundreds of shopkeepers and trade association representatives demanded the total withdrawal of a newly implemented 0.4 percent merchant discount rate on Unified Payments Interface transactions. Demonstrators shuttered storefronts in major bazaar areas to register resistance against levies imposed on digital settlement gateways.
Trade union spokespersons emphasized that local shopkeepers operate on extremely razor-thin profit margins and had enthusiastically adopted cashless QR payment systems upon government assurances of zero transaction fees. Retailers argued that imposing recurring gateway deductions on modest consumer purchases imposes an unfair financial penalty on small-scale family businesses while discouraging everyday digital payments.
A joint delegation of trading bodies submitted a formal memorandum addressed to the Union Finance Ministry through district administrative authorities, urging central intervention to exempt grassroots retailers. Merchants warned that if the processing charges are not rescinded, small business operators across western Uttar Pradesh will revert to cash-only transactions for retail sales.
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Sources:
https://www.ndtv.com/video/inside-pm-modi-s-kyrgyzstan-visit-sco-summit-key-meetings-more-1151424