Recent events have put the popular online meal delivery service Zomato once again in the sights of tax officials. A sales tax inspector in Delhi has sent the corporation a demand and penalty order totaling more than Rs 2 crore.
The order, spanning from April 2018 to March 2019, includes a GST demand of Rs 2,22,91,376 along with accrued interest amounting to Rs 2,08,98,164. Additionally, a penalty of Rs 22,29,136 has been imposed. Zomato confirmed receipt of the order from the Sales Tax Officer, Ward 300, Delhi, in a regulatory filing with the stock market. The filing stated that the Company has received an order for the period April 2018 to March 2019 passed by the Sales Tax Officer, Ward 300, Delhi confirming the demand of GST of Rs 2,22,91,376 with interest of Rs 2,08,98,164 and penalty of Rs 22,29,136.
Zomato’s response
The food tech giant made a statement indicating that it will contest the ruling. Zomato said , 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.
This result follows closely on the heels of Zomato’s receipt last month of a prior GST demand and penalty order totaling Rs 11.81 crore. The previous ruling included a 5.9 crore rupee GST demand coupled with a commensurate penalty for the months of July 2017 through March 2021. Zomato has had a lot of recent run-ins with tax officials. The company said earlier this month that it had received notifications from Karnataka and Delhi tax authorities about purportedly incomplete GST payments in 2018, amounting to Rs 4.2 crore.
