Flipkart, Amazon plan to clarify 1% TDS for e-commerce sellers in budget

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Feb 3, 2020

US-owned e-commerce platforms Flipkart and Amazon plan to seek clarification on the upcoming government budget’s proposed 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on e-commerce transactions.

 
The Union Government announced on February 1 that it plans to leverage a 1% TDS on all e-commerce transactions for businesses with a gross annual income of over Rs 5 lakh ($6,991.84) in order to deepen the tax net. This move could make selling online more costly and could be seen in opposition of the government’s continued promotion of online retail. 
 
"We are studying the details, and will reach out to the government for clarifications,” an Amazon India spokesperson wrote, in an email response to the Press Trust of India.

“We hope the tax regime is simple and uniform so that millions of small and medium businesses can go online, digitise their operations and continue to contribute to growing the economy."
 
"We are studying the details, particularly how it impacts the MSMEs [micro, small, and medium enterprises] and sellers on our marketplace platform,” a Flipkart spokesperson told the Press Trust of India.

“We will discuss further with our seller partners, and engage with government and other stakeholders in due course."
 
The amendments are scheduled to take effect from April 1, 2020. The proposed tax could lead smaller sellers to have cash flow issues, especially if they have to wait for tax refunds.