As shopkeepers in Bengaluru are refusing to accept payments via UPI, social media users have said that they would not shop at places that don’t support UPI as a mode of payment. A user said in a recent Reddit post that being poor does not mean that vendors would not pay taxes.
He also highlighted how the salaried class in India is taxed at every turn and how they need to go through a ton of paperwork to get basic benefits.
“I’m seeing multiple reports that the vendors are now demanding cash because they have reached the UPI limit and have to pay taxes on it. We, salaried people are taxed at every turn. In order to claim ₹20000 in treatment for my parents,we need to provide bills, go through accounting review etc,” the user said.
The user further said that the simplest way in which Bengalurueans can protest against this is by paying only through UPI.
“We cannot join and protest on street for unbanning bike taxi and ride shares, or any schemes like ₹2000 for women, chicken rice for dogs because we have to earn, stay away from any police cases etc. But the simplest method we can protest is to pay only though UPI. Let them pay taxes and increase our pool instead of government increasing existing burden. If you don’t show UPI, we won’t shop at your place. Being poor doesn’t mean you should not pay taxes,” the post read.
Here’s what social media users said
Netizens agreed with the original poster’s take, saying that they will also boycott those vendors who refuse to accept UPI.
A user wrote: “100% agree, if I’m forced to pay only by cash, I’m going to another shop. I’m not going to break my head withdrawing cash from ATM, then pay service charges on top of that for frequent withdrawal. Fuck that shit!”
Another user said: “No UPI = move on to next shop!”
“Use Blinkit/Zepto if they don’t accept UPI. Personally I hate quick commerce platforms but in this case I wouldn’t mind using them,” a user commented.
“Definitely, why should a part of the population escape paying taxes? And it’s not like they’re all poor, I’m very sure that the vendors who are protesting against this are pretty rich, very obvious, they are earning more, hence getting taxed. They might be richer than the corporate employees who have been paying taxes upon the bare minimum that they earn. Not fair,” a fourth user wrote.
Why are vendors in Bengaluru saying ‘cash only’?
In Bengaluru, numerous small vendors are opting for cash over digital payments due to apprehensions about tax authority actions. The commercial taxes department has sent GST notices to businesses whose UPI activities indicate turnovers above legal limits, stirring concerns among vendors.
HD Arun Kumar, a former additional commissioner of commercial taxes in Karnataka, stressed the importance of accuracy in reported figures, indicating that GST authorities shouldn’t rely on unverified figures for turnover, as per a report in The Times of India.
The increase in GST notices has caused street food vendors and small shop owners to fear possible eviction. Vinay K Sreenivasa from the Federation of Bengaluru Street Vendors Associations noted the anxiety these notices have caused among the vendors.
A former GST field official highlighted a key issue and said that UPI credits are not always business-related and could be informal loans or money from family and friends. This has led many vendors to revert to cash transactions.
BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar intends to appeal to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for intervention. Concurrently, Karnataka’s tax authorities face pressure to achieve a revenue goal of Rs 1.20 lakh crore for the financial year. Arun Kumar emphasized that GST laws require the tax officers to provide solid evidence before imposing any tax demands, underlining the need for thorough tax evaluations.
