The Delhi government has issued notices to e-tailers, who deliver goods to consumers in the city after taking orders online, to make sure that they pay the due taxes.
Three top players based in Bangalore and many small e-tailers in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and other states are among the two dozen online shopping websites that have been give given notices by the Arvind Kejriwal government which wants to mop up an additional Rs 500 crore VAT annually from these companies.
“The government has dismissed these companies’ plea that they are just service providers who cannot be forced to pay VAT,” said an official.
“There are about 400 e-tailers who sell their goods in Delhi. Last year, these companies had a turnover of Rs 1,500 crore and this year the figure could touch Rs 3,000 crore,” he said. Global e-tailers, includng Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal, are minting millions of rupees by selling goods to customers at their doorsteps that too on heavy discounts.
Sources said some of the e-tailers were collecting VAT from customers but not depositing with the Delhi government. “We have sought clarifications from these companies,” said an official.
A Delhi traders’ leader Rakesh Kumar Yadav claimed the e-tailers had resulted in a drop in business volume of city traders by 30 per cent annually.
“Since the traders’ revenue is falling, they are depositing lesser VAT and the Delhi government is suffering a drop in collections,” he said.
He said the decision to bring online shopping websites into the ambit of VAT may help the government boost its VATcollections.