Government has clarified that it will implement the equalisation levy on ‘consideration for sale of goods’ for foreign e-commerce operators. This means that the 2% levy would be applicable on the whole transaction when Indians transact with overseas portals of Amazon or Netflix.
Global internet firms were hoping they would be allowed to pay the levy on their net revenue and not on the gross bill. E-commerce transactions through India-based entities of Amazon won’t be impacted as they pay local taxes, industry executives and tax experts said. This would be implemented irrespective of whether the product or service being offered is owned by the e-commerce operator.
An email sent to Amazon India did not immediately elicit a response.
