Indian e-commerce platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, and Blinkit are among other companies that will have to pay 18% goods and services tax (GST) on their delivery services under the revised GST regime effective 22nd September 2025.
The central government’s GST Council, in its 56th meeting on 3 September 2025, announced that e-commerce and quick commerce platforms will have to pay 18% GST on delivery charges effective 22 September 2025, part of the revamped GST structure in the Indian economy.
Even though this brings a change in the taxation system on delivery charges, which were earlier exempted, now the customers using these platforms are likely to pay more if the operators decide to hike delivery fees or platform charges.
What are companies planning to do?
According to multiple media reports, the e-commerce companies are evaluating their hit on the firm’s revenues due to the new GST impact and are likely to pass on the effect of the GST hike to the customers to prevent the losses in operations.
Industry experts are analysing the impact of this GST rate imposition, which will be felt directly by companies, as delivery charges are a major part of their core operations. However, some reports also suggest that people using the value-added services offered by these quick commerce and online delivery companies may not be impacted by the higher charges, as they already pay extra fees for premium access.
“We would have no other option but to pass on that hit to customers, so you can expect delivery fees going up, or even delivery partner earnings taking a hit. The cost of food could also go up,” a senior executive at a food delivery company told the news portal Indian Express.
How much does the customer have to pay?
If companies decide to pass on the effect of the 18% GST on delivery services to customers, then people may have to pay a higher tax on getting their items delivered to their doorstep.
For example: A customer is ordering food worth nearly ₹500 from one of the Indian online food delivery platforms. The customer has already paid a restaurant GST of nearly ₹88, along with an almost ₹15 platform fee, inclusive of GST, on top of the packing charges.
In case the companies decide to pass on the effect of the 18% GST on delivery services, then the people ordering online have to pay more for their delivery charges to their doorstep in the form of taxes.
What did the GST Council recommend?
In its 56th meeting, the GST Council recommended that ‘local delivery services’ through an Electronic Commerce Operator (ECO) will now be included under section 9(5) of the CGST Act, which was earlier exempted from this inclusion.
The council then imposed an 18% GST rate on these services, which has to be paid by the company, hence fueling the industry debate on whether or not the company will pass on the effect of the higher GST to its customers.
This means that companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto, among others, will have to pay 18% GST on the delivery charge they collect from people ordering on their respective e-commerce platforms, as per the updated GST norms.
