What started off as a small experiment — a ₹2 “platform fee” on Swiggy in 2023 — has now grown into an industry standard across e-commerce and quick commerce platforms alike. The fee is no longer ₹2 either: Swiggy now charges ₹10 as a platform fee. There is GST applicable on top of this: one user fumed on social media site Reddit two years ago: “There’s now a GST on platform fee. A fee Zomato/Swiggy invented.” The fees are netting relatively modest sums — Zomato said in its report for the 2023–24 fiscal that the line item earned the firm ₹83 crore that year.
But they may be setting the stage for something larger: platform fees are now being charged across all major food and grocery delivery platforms, like BlinkIt, Swiggy, Zomato and Zepto. Even Amazon has started charging a ₹5 “marketplace fee,” something it doesn’t appear to charge users in other countries. Spokespeople for Swiggy and Zepto did not respond to a request for comment. A Zomato spokesperson said, “This fee helps us keep the app running smoothly, invest in product improvements, and continue delivering a smooth and convenient experience for our users. GST is applied as per government regulations and the restaurant’s confirmation.” Amazon said in a blog post when it started charging this fee last month that the surcharge is a “common industry practice,” and that it wouldn’t be applicable on bill payments and digital purchases.