GATE EC 2025 Set 1 Q10 — General Aptitude

An organization allows its employees to work independently on consultancy projects but charges an overhead on the consulting fee. The overhead is $20 \%$ of the consulting fee, if the fee is up to ₹$5,00,000$. For higher fees, the overhead is ₹$1,00,000$ plus $10 \%$ of the amount by which the fee exceeds ₹ $5,00,000$. The government charges a Goods and Services Tax of $18 \%$ on the total amount (the consulting fee plus the overhead). An employee of the organization charges this entire amount, i.e., the consulting fee, overhead, and tax, to the client. If the client cannot pay more than ₹$10,00,000$, what is the maximum consulting fee that the employee can charge?