Karnataka govt may impose 1-2% fee on platforms like Zomato, Swiggy; Cabinet to discuss on Oct 24: Report | Bengaluru

The Karnataka government is preparing to impose a 1-2 per cent transaction fee on aggregator platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Flipkart, Amazon, Ola, Uber, and Urban Company, among others. This fee, once implemented, will be directed to a welfare board dedicated to providing social security benefits for gig workers involved in delivery services for these platforms, Moneycontrol reported.

According to the report, the move is part of the state’s broader effort to introduce social security measures for gig workers under the proposed “Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024.” The government has stated that the fee will be collected by the platforms themselves and passed on to the welfare board. While the companies will not profit from this fee, it is expected to make orders slightly more expensive for consumers, potentially affecting their ordering habits.

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Karnataka’s gig workers Bill

This new initiative follows Karnataka’s earlier announcement of the draft bill in June 2024. “We are planning to collect a welfare fee on a per-transaction basis, ranging from 1-2 percent, which will be collected by the platforms and transferred to the welfare board,” A senior state government official said as reported by Moneycontrol.

The bill will cover a wide range of platforms, including Rapido, Dunzo, Zepto, and Porter, and will apply to sectors such as ride-sharing, food and grocery delivery, e-marketplaces, logistics, and more. The revenue collected will fund social security programs for gig workers, such as healthcare and insurance.

The Karnataka cabinet is expected to discuss the bill on October 24, with the possibility of it being introduced during the winter session of the state assembly in December. Previously, there was consideration of a fee based on a company’s turnover, but stakeholders agreed that a per-transaction fee was a more viable approach, the report added.

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