Jio Finance’s ₹24 Tax Filing Offer: Bargain or Another Step Toward Monopoly?

Reliance has once again sent shockwaves through the market — this time with Jio Finance offering income tax filing for just ₹24. It’s an eye-popping figure, especially in a country where most online tax filing services cost anywhere between ₹250 and ₹1,000. For many consumers, it sounds like a dream deal. But for small players in the industry, it’s déjà vu — and not in a good way.

The Disruption Playbook

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Reliance has pulled off similar moves before. When Jio entered the telecom market in 2016, it offered free calls and dirt-cheap data for months. Smaller telecom operators couldn’t keep up — remember Aircel, Telenor India, and even big names like Tata Docomo? One by one, they either shut shop or were absorbed. Today, the telecom market is essentially an Airtel–Jio–Vi game, with Jio comfortably holding the largest share.

In retail, Reliance Smart and JioMart have been expanding aggressively, offering deep discounts that small neighborhood stores can’t match. Even in entertainment, JioCinema’s strategy of streaming IPL for free last year undercut subscription-based platforms, forcing rivals to rethink pricing and content strategies.

Why Small Players Fear This Move

The concern isn’t about affordable services — consumers love them. The worry is what happens after the competition is gone. With fewer players in the market, pricing power shifts entirely to the giant who remains. That’s when rates can quietly creep up, and service diversity can shrink.

Tax filing is a niche but essential service. Dozens of startups and mid-sized companies have built their businesses around offering affordable, user-friendly platforms. A ₹24 offer from a corporate behemoth doesn’t just undercut them — it makes their pricing models almost irrelevant.

The Bigger Picture

Reliance’s strategy isn’t illegal; it’s aggressive capitalism. But it raises an important question: should there be safeguards to prevent one company from dominating entire sectors through loss-leading offers? Or do we let the market decide, even if that means wiping out competition in the process?