Author: News Desk

Mumbai: Food delivery and quick commerce services provider Zomato has received a tax demand notice of Rs 803 crore from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department.

In a stock exchange filing, the company said this notice has been given by the Joint Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise in Thane. This tax notice includes GST demand and interest and penalty.

“This tax demand notice is for not paying GST on delivery charges. The total amount of Rs 803 crore includes GST demand of Rs 401.7 crore and interest/penalty of the same amount,” according to the exchange filling.

The company further said, “We believe that we have a strong case on merits, supported by the opinion of our external legal and tax advisors. The company will file an appeal against the order before the appropriate authority.”

Earlier, in January and June this year, Zomato received Rs 4.2 crore and Rs 9.45 crore GST demand notices, respectively.

Zomato in 2023 received a GST demand notice of Rs 400 crore on delivery charges.

Delivery charges are levied by Zomato, Swiggy and other food and quick commerce companies on their services.

“These companies claim that gig workers work as delivery partners. They are paid on an order basis. This delivery charge collected from the users is given directly to the gig worker,” according to reports.

The delivery charge has been considered a service in GST laws, as the platforms are collecting it. Due to this, 18 per cent GST can be levied on delivery.

Zomato recently raised over $1 billion through qualified institutions placement (QIP) of equity shares.

The company’s stock was trading flat at Rs 285 apiece on Friday.

In Q2 FY 25, Zomato’s total income grew 68.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,799 crore, from Rs 2,848 crore in the same period of the previous financial year. The company’s net profit increased 4.8 times to Rs 176 crore in the September quarter.

Mumbai: India’s economic momentum is expected to recover in the second half of FY25, driven by a rebound in government capex post-elections, recovery in rural consumption, and on the back of festive season demand, a report by Motilal Oswal Private Wealth (MOPW) said on Saturday.

The growth remains steady, positioning India as one of the fastest-growing major economies globally, with relatively low volatility and stable growth, said the Alpha Strategist Report.

Equity markets now are in consolidation phase after a corrective phase of 10-12 per cent in the benchmark indices.

“With the recent market correction, large-cap valuations appear attractive. Investors can adopt a lump-sum strategy for Hybrid, Large, and Flexi-cap funds while taking a staggered approach over three months for select mid- and small-cap strategies,” the report mentioned.

FII turned net buyers after 38 trading sessions with an infusion of Rs 9,947 crore.

“The Indian economy continues to remain on strong footing and signs are visible for growth coming back on track gradually. Hence, we continue to remain positive on the equity markets from long term perspective,” the report mentioned.

It cautioned investors to tread with caution by adopting a strategy which is balanced and resilient.

“Based on their risk profile, investors having the appropriate level of equity allocation can continue to remain invested,” the report mentioned.

Considering the recent corrections, if equity allocation is lower than desired levels, investors can increase allocation by implementing a lump sum investment strategy for Hybrid, large and flexicap strategies and 3 to 6 months for select mid and small-cap strategies with accelerated deployment in the event of a meaningful correction.

“With the evolving interest rate scenario, the fixed income portfolio should be Overweight on Accrual Strategies and Neutral on Duration Strategies,” the report mentioned.

New Delhi: Blinkit’s rival Zepto saw its expenses surge a whopping 71.6 per cent to Rs 5,747 crore in the last financial year (FY24), as the company clocked Rs 1,248.6 crore in losses.

The return on capital employed (ROCE) for the quick commerce company stood at -119.3 per cent and its EBITDA margin was -23.81 per cent, as per its financials.

Zepto’s operational revenue stood at Rs 4,454 crore in FY24. Effectively, the company spent Rs 5,747 crore (from Rs 3,350 crore in FY23) to earn Rs 4,454 crore last fiscal.

The Aadit Palicha-run company saw its information technology and advertising expenses rise to Rs 116 crore and Rs 303 crore, a rise of 65.7 per cent and 40.3 per cent, respectively.

The company incurred Rs 493 crore in warehousing costs and Rs 580 crore in delivery expenses.

When it comes to earnings, income from sale of products constituted over 89 per cent of the total operating revenue, and the rest of the income came from delivery, warehousing and advertising services.

Zepto also earned Rs 44 crore from non-operating income, as per its financials.

The company’s current assets stood at Rs 1,398 crore in FY24. Zepto recently earned $350 million in a funding round led by Motilal Oswal Private Wealth at a valuation of $5 billion.

Last week, Palicha said he is not against work-life balance and even recommends it to his competitors. His statement came after a viral post accused the quick e-commerce platform of toxic work culture.

The Reddit post, by an anonymous user, alleged that Zepto’s working environment was “toxic”, with employees working exhausting 14-hour shifts. It claimed that the company also pressured employees with demanding expectations.

In quick commerce, despite Swiggy’s Instamart inventing the category, Zomato’s Blinkit has taken an early lead, and Zepto continues to execute well.

New Delhi: In a significant week for the Indian startup ecosystem, nearly 40 startups secured more than $787 million in funding as the economy remained resilient amid the geo-political conditions.

These deals included 16 growth-stage deals and 23 early-stage ones. This is a massive jump from $250 million raised cumulatively across 18 deals last week. Cloud kitchen unicorn Rebel Foods led the funding with $210 million led by Temasek in a mix of primary and secondary share sales.

Rebel Foods is planning for a public listing by next year. Fintech startup Mintifi raised a total of $180 million in its Series E round led by TVG and Prosus. Mintifi plans to deploy the fresh capital to expand its footprint across key sectors. Meanwhile, CarDekho SEA, the Southeast Asia business unit of digital automotive solutions provider CarDekho Group, raised its first external funding round of $60 million.

The round was led by prominent growth and private equity investors Navis Capital Partners (Navis) and Dragon Fund. Following this round, the cumulative fundraise now stands at more than $100 million.

Haber, a leading industrial AI startup, raised $44 million in its Series C funding round, which included $38 million in equity and $6 million in debt.

The funding round was led by Creaegis, BEENEXT, and Accel. SolarSquare, India’s leading home solar startup based in Mumbai, secured $40 million in its Series B funding round, marking the largest venture capital raise in the Indian solar sector.

The round was led by Lightspeed with participation from Lightrock. K12 Techno Services secured $40 million in funding from Kenro Capital, a growth-stage secondary venture capital firm.

Moreover, 23 early-stage startups secured funding worth $54.01 million during the week. Nearly 73,151 startups in India now have at least one woman Director — nearly half of the 1,52,139 startups supported by the government, thus showcasing the crucial role women play in driving innovation and economic growth, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry statement.