Morning Buzz: GST collections rise 10 percent, Zomato increases platform fee and more

GST collections rose to Rs1.65 crore in December. Image: Shutterstock

GST collections rise 10 percent to Rs1.65 lakh crore 

GST collections rose to Rs1.65 crore in December. While this is below the Rs1.68 lakh crore in November it was up from the Rs1.49 lakh crore recorded in December 2023. This was the seventh month when GST collections crossed Rs1.6 lakh crore. The increase was also mainly on account of domestic collections while goods imported lagged. 
(Economic Times, Financial Express, Times of India)  

UPI ends 2023 with record Rs18 lakh crore transactions

UPI ended 2023 on a high note with 1200 crore transactions with Rs18 lakh crore being recorded in December. This was up 45 percent and 59 percent in value and volume terms respectively. This surge was primarily driven by the increase post the festive season in November. The increase was driven more by person to merchant transactions. Person to person transactions saw a lesser increase. 
(BusinessLine) 

Zomato increases platform fee to Rs4

Zomato has increased the platform fee it charges from Rs3 to Rs4 in key markets. On new year’s eve the company had increased the fee to Rs9. Despite this the company surpassed the number of orders it served on new year’s eve when compared to the last six years. The company levies a platform fee for every order delivered but waives off delivery charges in the case of customers who have subscribed to its gold program. 
(Economic Times)  

IT department sends notices to NRIs for high value transactions

The IT department has sent notices to NRIs asking them to confirm certain high value transactions and also to file returns. The notices were sent before the 31 December deadline for late filing of returns. This could happen due to a variety of reasons like spending income not earned in India (and hence not liable to be taxed) as well as not converting their accounts to NRE accounts upon leaving the country. As long as NRIs can show that the income wasn’t earned in India, a response to the notices can be submitted.
(BusinessLine)