Karnataka announces cess on transactions conducted through aggregator platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Uber and more

• The Karnataka government will impose a new cess on transactions conducted through aggregator platforms.
• This includes transactions on Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Uber and similar platforms.
• The money that will be collected will reportedly be used for the welfare fund for gig workers.

In what may soon make your orders and rides more expensive, the government of Karnataka has announced to impose new cess on transactions conducted through aggregator platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Uber and others to provide social security to gig workers.

Addressing a press conference, Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad said, "The Labour Department of Karnataka has decided to impose cess on every transaction on aggregator platforms like Zomato, Dunzo, Swiggy, Zepto, Ola and others such."

"The money that will be collected will be used for the welfare fund for gig workers. We are not charging for products or goods that consumers purchase; they will be charged only on transport," he added.

The state government has already drafted a bill to protect the rights of platform-based gig workers. As per the draft, the bill intends "to place obligations on the aggregators in relation to social security, occupational health and safety, and transparency."

It provides a scope to establish a welfare board and create a welfare fund for the platform-based gig workers in the state.

By definition, a gig worker is someone who works short-term or project-based jobs, often as an independent contractor or freelancer, instead of being employed by a single company. Gig workers are part of the gig economy and are often involved in the service sector.

As of now, gig work, being a relatively new form of workforce, has no dedicated labour laws. However, some provisions of Indian labour law cover some parts of the gig workspace.

The Employment Compensation Act, 1923, mandates that the employer pay compensation for accidents arising out of and in the course of employment. The applicability of this law to gig workers also remains to be determined by courts.

With inputs from ANI.

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