Zomato, the popular food delivery platform, has implemented a significant increase in its platform fees, raising it by 20% to Rs 12 per order across all cities where it operates. This move comes as the company capitalizes on the increased demand during the festive season.

Fee Hike Details

This latest adjustment follows a pattern of fee increases by Zomato. The company had previously raised its platform fees from Rs 6 to Rs 10 per order ahead of last year's festive season.

Competitive Landscape

Zomato's fee hike comes in the wake of similar moves by its competitors:

• Swiggy, Zomato's main rival, recently experimented with a Rs 14 platform fee at select locations last month.

Financial Performance

The fee increase coincides with recent financial results from Zomato's parent company, Eternal:

Market Response

The market's reaction to these developments was relatively muted:

Industry Trends

The platform fee increases by both Zomato and Swiggy indicate broader trends in the food delivery sector:

1. Capitalizing on festive season demand
2. Efforts to improve profitability in a competitive market
3. Balancing user experience with revenue generation

As the festive season progresses, it remains to be seen how these fee adjustments will impact consumer behavior and the companies' bottom lines in the highly competitive food delivery market.

In a recent development, food delivery giant Zomato finds itself navigating through choppy waters as it faces both internal allegations and regulatory challenges.

Employee Allegations Surface

Shashank Shukla, a Zomato employee who joined the company in February, has publicly alleged on LinkedIn that the company is engaging in unethical behavior. Shukla claims that Zomato is removing employees without their consent, failing to consider personal circumstances, and that senior leadership is acting without accountability.

In his post, which tagged Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal and other company leaders, as well as group brands Hyperpure and Blinkit, Shukla stated that he had personally experienced such an incident. He mentioned that he had already escalated these issues internally via email before making the public post.

When contacted about these allegations, Zomato declined to comment on the matter.

GST Demand Orders

Adding to the company's challenges, Zomato, now known as Eternal Limited, has received three Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand orders from the Joint Commissioner, Appeals-4, Bengaluru. These orders, received on August 25, cover the period from July 2017 to March 2020.

The details of the GST demand orders are as follows:

The total GST demand amounts to ₹1718.93 lakh, with an additional ₹2142.00 lakh in interest and ₹172.19 lakh in penalties.

Company's Response

Eternal Limited (formerly Zomato Limited) has stated that they believe they have a strong case on merits, backed by views from their lawyers. The company plans to file appeals against these orders before the appropriate authority.

As the food delivery giant grapples with these internal and external challenges, stakeholders will be closely watching how the company addresses both the employee allegations and the regulatory demands in the coming days.