E-commerce firm Meesho says added 25,000 non-GST sellers in 2 months

Company says it is 'committed' to goal of goal of digitising 10 million sellers by 2027

E-commerce startup Meesho said on Friday some 25,000 sellers who don’t have Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration have joined its platform since October this year.

Such sellers comprised 40 per cent of Meesho’s new seller registrations in the last two months, joining from more than 20 states. This comes after the GST Council allowed e-commerce platforms to onboard non-GST sellers who have an annual turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh each.

“Committed to our goal of digitising 10 million sellers by 2027, Meesho stands firm in driving innovation and embracing the government's historic decision to eliminate mandatory GST registration for small businesses selling online. We believe this is opening up vast horizons for aspiring entrepreneurs and contributing significantly to enriching our product offerings and enhancing consumer experiences,” said Megha Agarwal, CXO – business at Meesho.

 

The new sellers include a “healthy mix” of retailers and small manufacturers who earlier sold products on social media platforms such as Etsy, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp along with their websites, said Meesho.

The sellers have more than 1.3 lakh product listings on Meesho, in categories like home decor, kitchen appliances and accessories, handmade jewellery, sarees, jute bags, fragrances and more.

“As a small business in the heart of Madurai, Meesho has helped turn our dreams into achievements. In just one month, we have been able to share our unique product offerings with customers across the state. Thanks to Meesho's easy registration process and zero per cent commission policy, our small business has grown,” said Vanitha Krishnamoorthy, a seller who lives in the Tamil Nadu city.

Meesho said it assists non-GST sellers by providing a streamlined registration process, simplified catalogue uploads, geo-restricted product discovery, and shipping labels for transparency.

Recent filings by Prosus said Meesho had an internal return rate (IRR) of 32 per cent in the first half (H1) of Financial Year 2023-24 to pull ahead of other companies in the Netherlands-based investor’s portfolio like Swiggy, PayU and Eruditus.