GST Council may propose 18% tax on payment aggregators for transactions up to Rs 2,000: Report 

The final decision will be made at the GST Council's 54th meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

If the 18% GST is imposed, payment aggregators are likely to shift this additional cost onto merchants.

In Short

GST Council may impose 18% tax on payment aggregators

Likely to impact small-value transactions under Rs 2,000

Decision to be finalised at GST Council’s upcoming 54th meeting

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council may consider imposing 18% GST on payment aggregators (PAs) for small digital transactions up to Rs 2,000, via debit and credit cards, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.

The proposal will be discussed at the GST Council’s upcoming meeting on September 9.

Payment aggregators, which enable businesses to accept online payments from customers, may soon face this new tax as the GST fitment committee, comprising revenue officials from both the Centre and states, believes that PAs, unlike banks, act as intermediaries for card transactions and should therefore be subject to GST.