Quote shared by Mr. Niraj Bagri, Partner, Dhruva Advisors

The genesis of the issue lies in the fact that whilst the aggregator platforms were made liable to pay tax as an ecommerce platform on the restaurant services supplied through them, the question of delivery services have been left open. A suitable clarification from the GST Council would address the situation and avoid the long drawn litigation. Other aspects like terms of the contract with the consumer, method of accounting by the aggregator companies, establishing the nature of charges as reimbursable expenditure would also indicate the overall nature of the transaction and thereby determine the taxability.