UPI tax notices spark trader revolt in Bengaluru

Hans India

7 days ago

Bengaluru: Karnataka's small traders are up in arms after the state Commercial Tax Department served notices demanding commercial tax payments from small bakeries, condiment shops, tea stalls and petty traders who have recorded UPI transactions above Rs40 lakh.
Angered by the sudden notices, traders across Bengaluru have begun displaying signs reading 'No Google Pay, No PhonePe — Cash Only' at their shops to discourage digital payments that they fear might attract further tax demands.
Owners of condiment stores, tea stalls, coffee outlets and petty shops have decided to shut their businesses on July 25 as a mark of protest. Pamphlets urging traders to observe the bandh have already been circulated.
Traders are also planning an indefinite sit-in protest at Freedom Park from 10 AM on July 25. Adding to the unrest, vendors have warned that the sale of milk and dairy products could be disrupted from July 23, as a mark of symbolic protest.
The backlash has grown louder after the department issued a Rs43 lakh tax notice to a vegetable vendor in Manjunatha Nagar. 'I've only been running this vegetable shop for two years. I've received two notices asking me to pay Rs43 lakh. If they force this, I'll have to shut shop and return to my hometown,' said Sagar, the distraught vendor.
Some pushcart vendors have reportedly received notices too, deepening concerns among Bengaluru's small business community over the future of digital payments and compliance burdens.