E-commerce players loses GST rate battle after levy of 1% TCS on sellers

Companies find it hard to convince the govt to treat them as a 'platform' and not a 'shop'

Even after months of discussions with the government and putting forward representations via sectoral bodies, e-commerce players lost the GST battle. The government on Friday said one per cent tax collected at source (TCS) would be charged by e-commerce companies.
 
In the absence of any straightforward classification, e-commerce companies find it tough to convince the government to treat them not as a “shop” but as a “platform”, which vendors use to sell products.
 
Under the new goods and services tax (GST) regime, this will imply e-commerce firms will have to deduct one per cent TCS while making payments