Food delivery platform Zomato has received a Rs 401.7 crore show cause notice from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Pune Zonal Unit, the company said in a regulatory filing late on Wednesday. The notice is based on the non-payment of goods and services tax (GST) on money collected by the company as delivery charges from the customers.

Zomato, however, said that it was not liable to pay any tax on delivery charges as it was collected on behalf of the delivery partners.

"Further, in view of the contractual terms and conditions mutually agreed upon, the delivery partners have provided the delivery services to the customers and not the company," it said, adding that Zomato will file an "appropriate response" to the show cause notice.

From January 1, 2022, food delivery platforms have been mandated to collect and deposit GST on behalf of restaurants for the orders placed. However, no clarity has been given on the delivery fees. Typically, gig workers operate as delivery workers for food delivery platforms and are paid on the basis of the number of orders delivered.