GST worked examples: e-commerce operators (TCS and section 9(5))

E-commerce operators play two different roles under GST. For most supplies through their platforms they collect a small amount as tax at source (TCS) from the seller's payout (section 52). For a few notified services they become the supplier themselves and pay the whole tax (section 9(5)). Figures are illustrations; rates are those in force on 04.10.2026.

E.1 — Goods sold on a marketplace: TCS

Facts. A Delhi seller sells goods for Rs. 10,000 (excluding tax) to a Delhi customer through a marketplace that collects the payment.

1. The seller charges CGST + SGST at the goods rate on its own invoice and pays that tax.
2. The operator collects TCS on the net value of taxable supplies: 0.25% CGST + 0.25% SGST (0.5% IGST for inter-State supplies) from 10.07.2024 (Notification 52/2018-Central Tax as amended by Notification 15/2024) — Rs. 25 + Rs. 25.
3. The operator pays it by the 10th of the next month and reports it in GSTR-8; the seller accepts it on the portal and it is credited to the seller's cash ledger.

Result. TCS is not an extra tax; it is an advance credited to the seller.

E.2 — Cab ride booked through an app

Facts. A passenger books a cab through an app from Mumbai to Pune; fare Rs. 1,500.

1. Passenger transport by radio taxi, motor cab, maxi cab and motor cycle through an e-commerce operator is notified under section 9(5): the operator pays the tax (Notification 17/2017-Central Tax (Rate)).
2. Place of supply for an unregistered passenger is where the journey starts — Mumbai; both points are in Maharashtra, so CGST + SGST.
3. Rate 5% without credit: Rs. 75, paid by the operator. The driver does not charge tax.

Result. The platform is the taxable person for the ride.

E.3 — Restaurant meal through a delivery app

From 01.01.2022 restaurant services supplied through an e-commerce operator are taxed in the operator's hands at 5% — see example A.7 in the guide on intra-State supplies.

E.4 — Holiday home booked through a platform

Facts. A Mumbai family books a Goa villa for three nights at Rs. 5,000 a night through a platform. The owner is not liable to register.

1. Accommodation services through an e-commerce operator are notified under section 9(5), except where the person supplying them is liable to register; here the operator pays the tax.
2. Place of supply is the location of the property — Goa (section 12(3)).
3. Accommodation up to Rs. 7,500 per unit per day is taxed at 5% without credit (from 22.09.2025): Rs. 750 on Rs. 15,000, as CGST + Goa SGST.

Result. The operator pays Rs. 750. A registered hotel selling through the same platform pays its own tax, and the platform collects TCS instead.

E.5 — Home services booked through an app

Facts. A Delhi customer books a plumber through a home-services app for Rs. 2,000; the plumber is not liable to register.

1. Housekeeping services such as plumbing and carpentry through an e-commerce operator are notified under section 9(5) where the actual supplier is not liable to register.
2. The operator pays CGST 9% + SGST 9% = Rs. 360.

Result. The platform pays the tax; the plumber stays outside GST.

Points to watch

• Sellers supplying goods through e-commerce operators must ordinarily register regardless of turnover (section 24(ix)), except as relaxed by notification for small sellers making intra-State supplies.
• From 01.10.2023 composition taxpayers may supply goods through an operator that collects TCS; they still may not supply services through one (section 10(2)(d)).
• An operator that allows supplies by unregistered or ineligible persons, or misreports them, is liable to penalty under section 122(1B).