Zomato, an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company has got entangled in a problem after Goods and Services Tax (GST) penalty notice from the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax of Gujarat.
The penalty has been imposed in relation to the audit of the company’s GST returns and accounts for the FY 2018-19. The demand order Zomato has received is due to the huge availment of input tax credit and short payment of GST.
According to the regulatory filing to the stock exchanges,”The company has received an order for FY 2018-19 pursuant to the audit of GST returns and accounts by the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Gujarat raising demand of GST of Rs 4,11,68,604/-, along with applicable interest and penalty totaling to Rs 8,57,77,696,” Zomato said in its exchange filing.
“The company believes that it has a strong case to defend the matter before the appellate authorities without any financial impact,” said Zomato in its statement.
In another development, Antfin Singapore Holding, an affiliate company of Ant Financial Group and part of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, lowered its stake in Zomato by 2%. The stake of Rs 2,827 crore was sold through open market transactions on March 6.
Antfin Singapore Holding Pte sold more than 17,63,95,675 shares in two parts, marking a 2.02 per cent reduction in their stake in Zomato, as per the bulk deal data on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Notably, Zomato was also given a show cause notice in the month of December 2023 worth Rs 402 crore, for due GST on delivery charges, in addition to interest and penalty for the timeline of October 29, 2019 to March 31, 2022.
