Amaravati, October 16, 2025:

The 18% GST on delivery fees, now passed to customers, has slightly slowed Zomato's food delivery operations in the July-September quarter, according to Eternal Ltd CFO Akshant Goyal's shareholder note. Affecting roughly 25% of orders, those without free delivery levy excluded loyalty or promo deals but added to a broader consumption dip as shoppers hold back amid rate tweaks across goods. "This has had a slight negative impact on the growth of the business as we have passed on this tax burden to customers," Goyal wrote, estimating an annual hit of ₹180-200 crore for major platforms.

Eternal posted a 63% drop in Q2 profit to ₹65 crore from ₹176 crore last year, despite revenue surging 183% to ₹13,590 crore. Blinkit, spared the fee tax, stands to gain from cuts on essentials, trimming basket GST by 3 percentage points to spur Q3 demand.

Goyal added: "The GST rate cuts have brought down the average GST on Blinkit’s typical basket by around three percentage points, which should drive more demand."