Mandi charges on wheat: aadhat, mandi tax, labour and bardana
By Anil Kumar, Head of Product & Technology, GrainTech. Updated
When a flour mill buys wheat through an arhatiya, the rate per quintal is only the start of the bill. Aadhat, mandi tax, labour, bags, freight and brokerage are added on top, and a cash discount may come off. Two mills buying at the same rate in the same mandi can end up paying quite different amounts per quintal.
This guide goes through each charge, shows how a mandi bill is built from them, and lists the mandi fee reported in the main wheat-buying states for 2026.
The charges on a mandi bill
| Charge | How it is worked out | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Aadhat | % of the wheat value | The arhatiya's commission for handling the sale |
| Mandi tax (mandi fee) | % of the wheat value | The market fee set by the state and collected by the mandi committee |
| Commission | % of the wheat value | Any other commission a mandi adds, where it applies |
| Cash discount | % of the wheat value, taken off | A reduction for paying promptly, where the arhatiya offers one |
| Labour | ₹ per bag | Unloading, cleaning, filling, weighing and loading |
| Bardana | ₹ per bag | The jute bags the wheat is packed in |
| Freight | ₹ per bag | Transport, when it is arranged through the arhatiya |
| Mandi expense, others | Flat amount | Any other agreed cost on the deal |
| Brokerage | Flat amount, ₹ per quintal or ₹ per bag | The broker's fee, when a broker arranged the deal |
Two things catch people out.
The percentages are taken on the wheat value only. Aadhat, mandi tax, commission and cash discount are each worked out on weight × rate, not on a running total that already includes other charges.
The bill weight is usually worked out from the bag count. Mandis agree a term: the number of kilograms counted for each bag, often 50. The bill weight is bags × term ÷ 100 quintals. So 200 bags at a 50 kg term is billed as 100 quintals, whatever the wheat weighs when it reaches the mill. Comparing the two figures is how a mill spots short weight.
A worked mandi bill
Take 200 bags at a 50 kg term, bought at ₹2,500 per quintal. The charge rates below are example figures to show the arithmetic, not any particular state's rates.
| Line | Working | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|
| Bill weight | 200 × 50 ÷ 100 = 100 qtl | |
| Wheat value | 100 × 2,500 | 2,50,000 |
| Aadhat 2% | 2,50,000 × 2 ÷ 100 | 5,000 |
| Mandi tax 1.5% | 2,50,000 × 1.5 ÷ 100 | 3,750 |
| Cash discount 1% | 2,50,000 × 1 ÷ 100 | −2,500 |
| Labour ₹5 per bag | 200 × 5 | 1,000 |
| Bardana ₹40 per bag | 200 × 40 | 8,000 |
| Freight ₹8 per bag | 200 × 8 | 1,600 |
| Mandi expense | flat | 500 |
| Brokerage ₹5 per quintal | 100 × 5 | 500 |
| Total owed to the arhatiya | 2,67,850 |
That is ₹2,678.50 per quintal against a bid of ₹2,500: the charges add about 7% to the cost of the wheat. Most of that gap comes from the bags and the percentage charges, so those are the lines worth checking on every bill.
Mandi fee reported by state for 2026
The mandi fee is set by each state and changes by notification, sometimes more than once a year, so treat these as a starting point and confirm the current rate with your mandi committee before you rely on it.
| State | Mandi fee reported for wheat | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Haryana | 4% in total | iGrain, February 2026. The Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board lists a 2% market fee plus HRDF |
| Uttar Pradesh | 1.5% | iGrain, February 2026 |
| Rajasthan | About 2.1%, including the Krishak Kalyan fee | iGrain, February 2026 |
For Punjab and Madhya Pradesh we could not find a current published figure we trust, so check the latest notification with your mandi committee.
The same iGrain report shows why this matters to mills: at 4%, the mandi fee on wheat bought at the ₹2,585 MSP is about ₹103 per quintal in Haryana, before any other charge, and Haryana mills say it has made them less competitive than mills buying in lower-fee states.
Aadhat in private deals and at MSP
In a private purchase, the aadhat rate is agreed between the mill and the arhatiya, and it varies by mandi and by relationship. Put the agreed rate in writing for each mandi you buy from.
Government procurement at MSP works differently: the commission is a fixed amount per quintal set by the Centre. From the 2026-27 rabi season it is ₹50.75 per quintal for wheat in Punjab and Haryana and ₹45.67 per quintal in Rajasthan (All India Radio, March 2026). These rates apply to procurement on behalf of the government, not to a mill's own purchases.
Keep each mandi's charges on record
Most mandi bill disputes come from a rate that was agreed once and then remembered differently. For every mandi you buy from, write down:
- The term in kilograms per bag.
- Aadhat, mandi tax, any commission and any cash discount, as percentages.
- Labour, bardana and freight per bag.
- Each broker's fee and how it is charged.
Then build every bill the same way and check it against the arhatiya's. GrainTech keeps these charges for each mandi, applies them when the purchase is entered, and adds the bill to the arhatiya's account and the bags to the bardana ledger. See how mandi purchase works in GrainTech.