Give Every Employee a Tax-Free Meal Benefit Worth ₹1,05,600, Without Changing Their CTC

The Income Tax Rules 2026 increased the meal allowance limit from ₹50 per meal to ₹200 per meal. Employees can now receive up to ₹8,800 per month or ₹1,05,600 per year, in tax-free meal benefits, significantly higher than before.

No. Meal card restructuring reallocates an existing component of CTC from taxable cash allowance to a tax-efficient benefit. Your total payroll cost does not increase. Employees receive more in-hand salary from the same package.

A prepaid meal card is an employer-issued card designed only for food and grocery expenses. It works like a debit card but is:

• Restricted to food-related categories (MCC control)

• Reloaded by the employer

• Fully trackable and compliant

Yes. The EnKash Meal Card works on Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, BigBasket, Amazon Fresh, and all major food delivery and grocery platforms. It is also accepted at 50,000+ physical food and grocery merchant outlets across India.

Meal cards help boost employee satisfaction by providing tax benefits and streamlining food-related expenses. Instead of using their debit cards, employees can use their prepaid meal cards to make all grocery-related purchases. Providing a food card to employees also makes an attractive remuneration package, making them believe that the company is considerate towards them.

A meal card is an effective replacement for paper-based food coupons. The easy management and tracking of meal cards help the finance/admin team to refill them instead of issuing monthly food coupons while tracking their balance. The finance team can easily activate, block, unblock, or deactivate the card in case of misuse.

Under Section 17(2)(viii) of the Income Tax Act, meal benefits provided through a structured card are tax-exempt up to ₹8,800 per month. Employees can save up to ₹1,05,600 annually compared to receiving the same amount as a taxable cash allowance.

Pluxee is a French-origin provider operating through its India entity. EnKash is a Made-in-India fintech with its own independent RBI PPI License, meaning no bank dependency and full control over issuance, limits, and usage policies.

EnKash also offers UPI-enabled payments and scan & pay, something Pluxee does not support.

EnKash provides configurable MCC restrictions, real-time unified dashboards, and native ERP integrations with SAP, Tally, and Zoho, compared to Pluxee's more fragmented, manually managed setup.

Zaggle operates on a bank-led, co-branded model, meaning card issuance timelines and controls are dependent on its banking partner.

EnKash issues cards under its own RBI PPI License, instantly, digitally, and independently.

EnKash also enforces MCC restrictions at the transaction level rather than just at the policy level, offers real-time spend dashboards instead of post-spend reporting, and provides UPI-enabled scan & pay, which Zaggle does not offer.

For finance teams that need full control and zero bank dependency, EnKash is the stronger choice.

Startups need to consider offering meal cards to employees for the following reasons:

• They have a wider usage and can be used across shops and eateries

• Refilling at regular intervals is a matter of a few clicks based on a list of employees

• Onboarding new employees and offering them meal cards is easy.

• It is easy to track and control usage for the employees as well as the finance team

• Meal cards motivate employees as they believe that the organization is considerate towards their food expenses

Meal cards function pretty much like debit cards but specifically for purchasing food, which means they are operated on a one-time or preset PIN. This means that even if the food card is misplaced and discovered by another person, it would be difficult to misuse. If reported lost, the finance team can easily block the card and restrict any fraud from occurring.

Meal benefits delivered through a structured prepaid card are exempt from income tax under Section 17(2)(viii) of the Income Tax Act — up to ₹8,800 per month (₹1,05,600 annually) from April 1, 2026. Any benefit above this limit is taxable as a perquisite.

Employee’s food allowance is a part of the remuneration. Meal allowance can be availed using tax-free meal cards. Employees can complete their KYC on the EnKash portal, activate their meal card, and use it monthly at their convenience and requirement.

Yes. EnKash holds both an RBI Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) License and an RBI Payment Aggregator (PA) License. The platform is SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS compliant. All meal card benefits are auto-categorized and designed to meet the compliance requirements of Section 17(2)(viii) of the Income Tax Act.

To implement meal cards at the workplace, follow these easy steps:

• Register on EnKash, your meal card provider

• Define the value of the card according to your organization’s budget

• Create a network of authorized food chains, apps, and outlets where all cards will be valid

• Educate your employees about the KYC and usage of the meal card

• Distribute the cards among your employees and encourage them to use them for food purchases and tax redemption

Employees can use the EnKash Meal Card:

• Online: Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Zepto, BigBasket, Amazon Fresh

• Offline: Restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, food courts

• Across thousands of food and grocery merchants in India

Absolutely. Employers can easily reload prepaid meal cards monthly or at desired intervals via their EnKash dashboard.

Employees can instantly block a lost card from within the EnKash app. EnKash carries zero liability on reported lost cards — no waiting, no paperwork. A replacement card can be issued digitally in minutes.

To activate your prepaid meal card, follow these simple steps:

• Log in to the EnKash portal using your registered mobile number or email.

• Complete your KYC (Know Your Customer) verification online.

• Once KYC is approved, your meal card will be activated and ready to use for food-related purchases.

• You’ll receive an SMS or email confirmation once the activation is complete.