Food-delivery giants face new ₹500 cr tax bill, margin crunch

Food delivery and quick commerce platforms face a new 18 per cent tax burden on delivery services after the GST Council ruled that marketplaces must pay the levy on behalf of previously exempt delivery workers, a move that threatens to squeeze profit margins and raise costs for consumers.

- PEERZADA ABRAR & UDISHA SRIVASTAV

The September ruling shifts tax liability from unregistered gig workers to e-commerce operators, effectively ending exemptions that had applied to low-value shipments and independent delivery partners across food aggregators and local logistics services.

"...The GST Council has clarified that local delivery services supplied through e-commerce operators will now be taxed at 18 per cent GST," said Sanket Desai, indirect tax partner, consumer products and retail, EY India. "The liability to pay GST shifts from the unregistered delivery partner to the platform under Section 9(5) of the CGST Act."