Bengaluru Restaurants Plan to Halt Online Delivery from August 15 Over Billing Grievances
Hotel owners in Bengaluru have threatened to suspend their partnership with online food delivery platforms from August 15, citing alleged arbitrary deductions, opaque payment settlements, and unauthorised advertising charges that they say have significantly reduced restaurant earnings.
The Bangalore Hotels Association (BBHA) stated that platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato have been deducting money towards advertisements — including Cost Per Click (CPC), Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and promoted listings — without obtaining prior written or digital consent from restaurant owners. The association argues that enrolment in such promotional campaigns should be strictly voluntary and based on explicit approval.
The association has also demanded a one-click opt-out mechanism, enabling restaurants to withdraw from paid promotions at any time without incurring further charges.
Raising concerns over the platform settlement process, the BBHA said payment statements lack sufficient transparency, making it difficult for restaurant owners to reconcile transactions. It demanded that every deduction — including GST-related charges, advertisement costs, promotional expenses and offer-linked deductions — be itemised and disclosed clearly.
Association president P.C. Rao questioned the practice of levying service charges on GST amounts that are collected from customers and remitted to the government, calling the practice unjustifiable. “The excessive deductions and accounting discrepancies have left restaurants with less than half of the billed order value, placing severe financial strain on businesses in many cases,” he said.
He said the issues had been repeatedly raised with concerned representatives, who had assured corrective action. However, the grievances remain unresolved. “We have given time till August 15 to rectify the problems and hold a detailed discussion, before suspending operations,” he said, adding that alternative arrangements will be notified to customers to minimise inconvenience.
While there have been no official statements from Swiggy or Zomato on the matter, The Hindu has learnt that the platforms are in talks with the restaurants regarding the issue. A source close to the matter at one of the prominent food delivery platforms told The Hindu that commissions are part of the contract reviewed by both parties and discounts are decided by restaurants. “However, given that needs may vary from restaurant to restaurant, we are in talks with them to understand more,” the source said.
