New Delhi: A day after the mega Start Up India event at which the Prime Minister pledged a business-friendly environment including tax breaks for new tech-driven companies, a controversy including one of india's biggest ecommerce players highlights the need for new policies.
A senior executive with Travel portal MakeMyTrip was arrested and later released on bail last week over charges of tax evasion that allegedly add up to 75 crores.
MakeMyTrip, founded by Deep Kalra in 2000, has firmly denied the charge, according to an unnamed person quoted by the Press Trust of India.
The dispute is over tax authorities saying sites like MakeMyTrip are not travel operators but hotel service providers, are obliged to deposit the service tax they collect from customers who use them to book hotels.
Others in this space are Yatra, Expedia, ClearTrip etc, and will reportedly face similar questions. A company spokesperson has been quoted by PTI as saying "At MakeMyTrip we strongly believe in an ethical and transparent and compliant corporate culture and abide by all laws and regulations of the country. The service tax issue in question is potentially an industry issue that can impact all Online Travel Agents (OTAs)."
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