New Delhi
The online retail industry is braced for a possible 1% tax on each sale made by sellers on their platforms from April if the proposal is approved by parliament next month. The move is part of a broader plan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to increase tax revenues and counter a sharp economic slowdown due to weakening consumer demand. But the tax will hurt the country’s fledgling e-commerce sector, according to a presentation prepared by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for the government and seen by Reuters. “(It) would cause irreparable loss to the entire industry with increased compliance burden,” the lobby group said on behalf of e-commerce companies.—Reuters
