In a fresh twist of events, Zomato, the online food delivery giant, faces the heat from tax authorities, landing another blow with a demand and penalty order crossing the ₹ 2 crore mark. This recent development stems from a sales tax officer’s ruling in Delhi.
The order, pertaining to the period from April 2018 to March 2019, includes a GST demand of ₹ 2,22,91,376 coupled with accrued interest totaling ₹ 2,08,98,164. Moreover, a penalty of ₹ 22,29,136 has been levied.
Zomato, addressing the issue through a regulatory filing, acknowledged receipt of the order from the Sales Tax Officer, Ward 300, Delhi. In their statement to the stock exchange, they confirmed the demand of GST, interest, and penalty.
Asserting its position, Zomato declared its plan to contest the order. ‘We believe that we have a strong case on merits and the company will be filing an appeal against the order before the appropriate authority,’ they mentioned.
This development follows closely on the heels of a previous GST demand and penalty order amounting to ₹ 11.81 crore, received just last month. The earlier order involved a GST demand of ₹ 5.9 crore with a corresponding penalty covering the period from July 2017 to March 2021.
Zomato’s recent run-ins with tax authorities have become recurrent. Earlier this month, the company disclosed receiving notices from tax authorities in Delhi and Karnataka concerning alleged short payments of GST in 2018, amounting to ₹ 4.2 crore.
