GST adversely impacting e-commerce businesses: Online player

The composition scheme under the GST allows a nominal tax of 2% to be paid by SMEs

Online sales of auto components have been hit by complex GST model for e-commerce players, online marketplace boodmo said.

Exclusion of e-commerce businesses from the composite scheme, a higher tax rate of 28 per cent for auto components and for logistics of spare parts as well, and a complex GST model has impacted adversely e-commerce startups, the co-founder of boodmo, Oleksandr Danylenko, said in a statement.

"Our new venture, which was emerging as a sunrise business, is badly impacted due to GSTs complex and cumbersome model, especially for e-commerce businesses. The 16-point invoice is not as per the marketplace requirement and, this way, businesses like boodmo, which is heavily dependent on suppliers, can neither buy nor sell its products," Danylenko said.

"The major problem is that our suppliers are not ready to send products directly to customers; they want to sell through us to cut through the complexity of the GST," Danylenko added.

Most of the sellers registered in its marketplace are SMEs and non-availability of the composite scheme for e-commerce players has impacted them.

The composition scheme under the GST allows a nominal tax of 2 per cent to be paid by SMEs.