Treatment of supplies through e-commerce mode:

Many models are in vogue for making supplies through e-commerce route. Most common models are ‘inventory model’, ‘market place model’, ‘fulfillment model’, ‘hybrid model’ and ‘aggregator model’, etc. A distinction has been made between the supplies of goods or services being made under various models.

Section 43B(e) of the MGL defines an Electronic Commerce Operator (Operator) as every person who owns, operates or manages an electronic platform which is engaged in facilitating the supply of any goods and/or services. Also a person providing any information or any other services incidental to or in connection with such supply of goods and services through electronic platform would be considered as an Operator. A person supplying goods/services on his own account, however, would not be considered as an Operator. For instance, Amazon and Flipkart are Operators because they are facilitating actual suppliers to supply goods through their platform, however, Titan supplying watches and jewels through its own website would not be considered as an Operator for the purposes of this provision. Similarly Amazon and Flipkart will not be treated as Operators in relation to those supplies which they make on their own account.

The GST provisions relating to supplies through e-commerce mode prescribe the obligations for Operators facilitating supplies by actual suppliers; actual supplier supplying goods or services through Operators; supplies through e-commerce mode on own account; supplies of branded services by aggregators and powers and obligations   of the government under the MGL. The following discussion elaborates these obligations and powers.