Major Setback Before Festive Season, Online Food Orders to Become Costlier

Food aggregators have increased their platform charges. On top of this, the imposition of 18% GST on delivery is expected to push the costs even higher. This means ordering food online during the festive season will weigh heavier on customers’ pockets. Here’s a detailed look at the changes that have come to light.

Just ahead of the festive season, popular online food delivery platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Magicpin have delivered a major blow to consumers by announcing a hike in their platform fees. With this decision, millions of customers across India will now have to bear higher costs whenever they place an online food order. The burden is expected to rise even further from September 22 onwards, as delivery charges will attract an additional 18% GST, further straining household budgets during the peak festive period. Let us explain how much each company has revised its platform fees.

Swiggy has raised its platform charge to ₹15 including GST in select markets, while rival Zomato has revised its fee to ₹12.50 per order, excluding GST. Magicpin, the country’s third-largest food delivery player, has also updated its charges in line with prevailing industry trends, setting its platform fee at ₹10 per order. With the implementation of 18% GST on delivery fees from September 22, Zomato customers are likely to pay nearly ₹2 extra per order, while Swiggy users may face an additional burden of about ₹2.6 per order. So far, neither Swiggy nor Zomato has issued an official statement regarding the matter.

A spokesperson from Magicpin clarified that the company has already been paying 18% GST on its food distribution costs. According to the spokesperson, “The recent changes in GST regulations do not affect our cost structure. Therefore, the increase in GST will not have any impact on our users. Our platform fee remains at ₹10 per order, which is the lowest among the leading food delivery players.”

In recent times, platform fees have gradually become an additional source of revenue for food aggregators, highlighting a shift in their business model. The simultaneous increase in charges by Zomato, Swiggy, and Magicpin underscores the rising operational costs in India’s food delivery sector. However, this trend also raises an important concern—whether affordability and convenience, the very foundations of online food ordering, can continue to go hand-in-hand for millions of customers in the country.