The Centre has paid Rs 4.10 crore as commission to the State Bank of India for the sale of electoral bonds in 13 phases, according to information procured through a query made under the Right to Information Act.
The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, in its reply dated March 19, 2021—to an RTI application made by transparency activist retired commodore Lokesh Batra—stated that an amount of more than Rs 4.35 crore (Rs 4,35,39,140.86), inclusive of GST, has been charged to the government as commission consequent to the sale of electoral bonds in 15 phases.
As per the RTI response, an aggregated amount of Rs 4.10 crore (Rs 4,10,16,764.60) has been paid by the government as commission, consequent to the sale of electoral bonds in 13 phases. Commission for the 14th and 15th phases of electoral bond issuance has not been paid till date.
A total number of 6,64,250 bonds have been printed so far, and an amount of Rs 1,86,05,720 or Rs 1.86 crore, inclusive of GST, has been levied to the government so far as printing costs. No commission has been paid by government towards printing of electoral bonds, it was stated in the RTI reply.
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Batra, who had posted the query before the government on February 19, 2021, said, “Corporates buy electoral bonds in crores. Political parties get donations from electoral bonds in crores. And taxpayers pay for it.”
He said the commission for sale of electoral bonds being charged to the government amounts to taxpayers paying for it. Moreover, he said the printing expense is also borne by the government, which again means taxpayers bear the cost.
