For its delivery partners to receive reimbursements for the 1% TDS (tax deducted at source) on delivery payouts, Zomato has enabled Income Tax Return (ITR) filing.
Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal stated on X that over a lakh riders had started filing their ITRs (income tax returns) on its partners’ apps in less than 48 hours.
Goyal revealed that Zomato gave its delivery partners over Rs 4,000 crore in compensation last year. This roughly translates to a TDS amount of Rs 40 crore. Therefore, delivery partners will be eligible for the refund if their income is less than the taxable income limit. Most of the delivery partners are probably covered by this.
The government ordered companies like Zomato and Swiggy to take 1% as TDS out of the payments made to delivery partners last year.
“With this initiative, most of our delivery partners will be filing taxes for the first time in their lives, which should make their lives easier in the long run – for example – they will be able to get access to structured credit, they will qualify for scholarships for their kids at various educational institutions, etc,” said Goyal.
The ITR filing by Zomato’s riders is a step in the right direction for the government and gig economy. TDS collection will bring in money for the state coffers in addition to providing access to official credit. More participants will now begin collecting TDS, which will eventually bring in money for the state exchequer, according to experts monitoring the gig economy.
Given that the Gurugram-based company recently exceeded Rs 2 lakh crore in capitalization, such a policy makes sense. Goyal joined the group of billionaires as a result of the share price’s record surge.
Zomato also received a demand notice in Karnataka regarding Goods and Service Tax (GST). Together with Rs 3.93 crore in interest and Rs 50.2 lakh in penalties, the total amount also includes Rs 5 crore in GST. Zomato is, nevertheless, filing an appeal with the relevant authority contesting the order.
