Ali Hasan
Flipkart and Swiggy are being probed by the IT department for alleged tax evasion by their third-party vendors. India’s Income Tax Department conducted searches at offices of a group firm of Walmart’s Flipkart and local food delivery startup Swiggy related to the case.
The searches began last wednesday at Swiggy and Instakart’s offices in the southern city of Bengaluru. The search at the office of Instakart, e-commerce giant Flipkart’s logistics arm, concluded late on Thursday, one of the sources said. At least 20 income tax officials visited the Instakart office to inspect invoices issued to its vendors, the source added.
In a statement, Flipkart said it was providing the officials with “all the required information and are extending our full co-operation”, adding it was in full compliance with all tax and legal requirements. Swiggy, backed by South African internet giant Naspers, too said it was in full compliance with tax and legal mandates.
The Income Tax Department has conducted surveys on a subsidiary of e-commerce major Flipkart and food ordering platform Swiggy on charges of Bogus Input Tax Credit (ITC) claim and Tax Evasion by some vendors linked to them.
The probe is primarily against the vendors who are on the platforms of these e-commerce majors but a proper and evidence-based investigation required the tax department to survey the offices of the two companies for collection of documents and understanding the subject matter, sources said.
They said the tax department undertook the action after it got inputs of Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion by certain companies from their sister agency, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).
