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Freedom251 › Blog › E-commerce

What GST Changes for E-commerce Sellers and Online Marketplace Buyers in India

By Freedom251 Team · · 5 min read

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Buying or selling through an online marketplace does not, by itself, change whether a supply is taxable under Indian GST. It changes some collection, payment and reporting responsibilities: in the usual section 52 arrangement, the marketplace collects tax at source from the seller, while tax on certain notified services can instead be payable by the operator under section 9(5). Buyers should look to the actual supply and invoice—not assume every online purchase has the same GST rate.

What changes when a sale happens through a marketplace?

An e-commerce operator (ECO) is not automatically the supplier for every transaction on its platform. The treatment depends in part on whether the operator collects the consideration and whether the supply falls under the special rules for specified notified services.

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Situation Who handles the relevant tax step? What it means
Ordinary taxable supply where the ECO collects consideration The ECO collects tax at source (TCS) from the supplier under section 52. TCS is a seller-side collection and reporting mechanism; it is not the GST rate charged to the buyer.
Specified notified service covered by section 9(5) The ECO pays the tax on that supply as if it were the supplier. This is operator tax liability, distinct from section 52 TCS.
Buyer purchase The supplier’s invoice and the legal treatment of the particular supply determine the tax shown. There is no single GST rate for all marketplace purchases.

CBIC’s e-commerce sectoral FAQ describes the section 52 collection role and the exception for cases where the ECO is liable under section 9(5). The GST Portal’s GSTR-1 instructions likewise distinguish reporting for section 52 supplies from reporting for section 9(5) supplies.

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What marketplace sellers need to know

Registration is not automatically waived for small sellers

CBIC’s general FAQ says suppliers making supplies through an operator required to collect TCS under section 52 are ordinarily required to register. There is also a later, limited route for certain goods suppliers to make supplies through an ECO without registration, subject to specified conditions and portal enrolment. The GST Council newsletter discussing this route does not reproduce all current eligibility conditions, so it should not be treated as a blanket exemption for every low-turnover seller. Check the applicable notification and current portal requirements before relying on it.

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The relevant GST Council discussion is in its June 2024 newsletter. It does not, on its own, establish a universal turnover threshold, eligibility for inter-state sales, or availability on every platform.

TCS is not the seller’s GST liability on the sale

For the section 52 pattern, the operator collects TCS from the supplier on the net value of taxable supplies where the operator collects the consideration. The supplier still needs to determine and account for the GST due on the underlying supply. TCS is not an extra GST charge to add to the buyer’s invoice and is not a substitute for the applicable GST rate.

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The current rate is lower than the older FAQ figure

The GST Council’s 53rd-meeting material records a reduction in the total TCS rate from 1% to 0.5%. For intra-state supplies, the reduced total is 0.25% CGST plus 0.25% SGST or UTGST; for inter-state supplies, it is 0.5% IGST. The Council document contains the recommendation and proposed notification wording. Older CBIC FAQ text still shows the former 1% rate, so do not use that older figure as the current rate without checking the applicable period. For an actual filing, confirm the operative notification and effective date for that tax period in the GST Council’s 53rd-meeting material and applicable law.

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Returns, cancellations and reconciliation

CBIC’s FAQ says returns of taxable supplies reduce the net value used to calculate TCS. It also says an ECO must remit collected TCS to the government within ten days after the end of the month in which it was collected. Because that timing is stated in an undated FAQ, sellers and operators should validate the statutory requirement that applies to the relevant period. Sellers should reconcile marketplace orders, cancellations, returns, settlement statements and tax records rather than treating the payout amount as the taxable value.

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Keep the two GSTR-1 reporting flows separate

The GSTR-1 instructions distinguish supplies made through an ECO where the operator collects TCS under section 52 from supplies for which the operator pays tax under section 9(5). For the section 52 flow, the reporting instructions call for the ECO’s GSTIN and net supply and tax values. Use the appropriate reporting treatment for the transaction; the two categories are not interchangeable. The applicable instructions are in the GST Portal’s GSTR-1 guide and the reporting-table changes in Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax.

What marketplace operators are responsible for

An operator’s obligations depend on its role in the transaction. When it collects consideration for ordinary taxable supplies, section 52 generally makes it responsible for collecting TCS from the supplier and reporting the relevant net values. For services notified under section 9(5), the operator is treated as liable for the tax on those supplies. The section 9(5) treatment applies to the specified category, not every service listed on a marketplace.

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That distinction matters operationally: an operator can be responsible for TCS collection on one transaction and tax payment as a deemed supplier on another. The underlying supply and the applicable statutory category determine which treatment applies.

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What online marketplace buyers should check

There is no universal online-purchase GST rate

GST depends on the particular goods or service, its classification, place of supply, exemptions and applicable notifications. The official material cited here does not establish a rate for any unspecified product or service. A marketplace purchase is not automatically taxed at a special, uniform “online” rate.

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Read the invoice, not just the checkout total

Invoice rules call for particulars including supplier identity, invoice date and serial number, description and value of the supply, tax rate and tax amount. These details let a buyer identify what was supplied and what tax the registered supplier charged. The CBIC’s invoice rules set out required particulars.

The CGST Act states: “No registered person shall collect tax except in accordance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder.” The Act also prohibits an unregistered person from collecting GST. A tax line should therefore correspond to a lawful supply and an appropriate invoice; if the invoice is unclear, ask the supplier or marketplace for an itemized explanation. See the CGST Act.

Which details determine the treatment?

For a specific transaction, these are the key questions to resolve:

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  • Is the supply goods or a service, and, if a service, is it one notified under section 9(5)?
  • Does the ECO collect the consideration?
  • Is the supply intra-state or inter-state?
  • Is the seller registered, or does it meet the conditions for the limited enrolment route for eligible goods suppliers?
  • Were any supplies returned or cancelled, changing the net value relevant to TCS?

Those facts determine who collects or pays tax, what must be reported and what should appear on the buyer’s invoice. Rates, notifications and portal procedures can change, so confirm the rules applicable on the transaction date before making a filing or deciding a product-specific rate.

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E-commerceGST invoicesGST TCSIndian GSTmarketplace sellersonline marketplaces

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