Why is my Swiggy or Zomato payout so much lower than my sales?
Commission is only the first deduction. Between the menu value of your orders and the money that reaches your bank, a payout statement typically subtracts:
- restaurant-funded discounts
- commission, plus 18% GST on it
- payment or collection charges, plus GST
- ad spend billed against payouts
- refunds and deductions for customer complaints
- TDS under the e-commerce rules
In the worked example below, a restaurant on a 24% commission keeps about 56% of its menu value. Reading the statement line by line is the only way to know your real take rate. Most owners never do it.
The Lines on a Payout Statement
Swiggy and Zomato label things differently and update formats from time to time, but every weekly statement is built from the same components:
| Line | What it is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Gross order value / item total | Menu value of delivered orders | Matches your POS for the same period |
| Restaurant discount | Your share of offers customers used | Only offers you opted into, at the funding share you agreed |
| Commission | The platform's percentage fee | Rate and base (pre- or post-discount) match your agreement |
| GST on commission and fees | 18% on the platform's services | Claimable as input tax credit if you are GST-registered and eligible |
| Payment / collection charges | Fee for processing customer payments, where charged | Rate matches your agreement |
| Ads / marketing deductions | Ad campaigns billed against payouts | Matches campaign spend in the ads dashboard |
| Refunds, penalties, adjustments | Complaint refunds, cancellation charges, corrections | Each one ties to a real order and a valid reason |
| TDS | Income-tax deducted by the platform as an e-commerce operator | Appears in your Form 26AS / AIS so you can claim credit |
One item that is not your cost: the 5% GST on food. Since January 2022 the platform collects it from the customer and pays it to the government on your behalf, so it should pass through the statement without reducing your earnings.
A Worked Example: One Week, 500 Orders
The figures below are illustrative. Your rates come from your own agreement; replace them with the numbers on your statement.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Menu value (500 orders × ₹400) | ₹2,00,000 |
| Restaurant-funded discounts | −₹20,000 |
| Net order value | ₹1,80,000 |
| Commission at 24% of net order value | −₹43,200 |
| GST on commission (18%) | −₹7,776 |
| Payment collection charge (2%) | −₹3,600 |
| GST on collection charge (18%) | −₹648 |
| Ads billed against payout | −₹8,000 |
| GST on ads (18%) | −₹1,440 |
| Complaint refunds and adjustments | −₹2,400 |
| TDS at 0.1% | −₹180 |
| Bank payout | ₹1,12,756 |
The headline commission is 24%, but ₹87,244 of the ₹2,00,000 menu value, or 43.6%, never reaches the bank. Some of that comes back: GST on fees is usually claimable as input tax credit, and TDS is credited against your income tax. The rest is the real cost of the channel, and it is the number your menu prices have to be built on.
Calculate Your Real Take Rate
Use two numbers from every statement:
Effective take rate = (menu value − bank payout) ÷ menu value
Then separate it into the parts you control:
- Commission and its GST: negotiable only at contract time, and mostly fixed.
- Discounts: fully in your control. This is usually the largest lever. See which Swiggy and Zomato offers make money.
- Ads: in your control, and only worth it at a positive return.
- Refunds and penalties: an operations problem: packaging, missing items, late dispatch.
If your effective take rate is above 40%, the fix is almost never "negotiate commission". It is discounts, ads and refunds. For the commission side specifically, see how to reduce Swiggy commission impact on margins and what restaurants actually pay Zomato.
A Weekly Reconciliation Routine
- Match order counts. Delivered orders on the statement should match delivered orders in your POS or kitchen log for the same days.
- Match the menu value. A gap usually means price mismatches between the app menu and your POS, or orders marked delivered that you never prepared.
- Check every discount line. Confirm each offer was one you opted into and that the funding share is what you agreed.
- Review refunds one by one. Pull the order, check the complaint, and raise a dispute for any you can disprove, such as with a dispatch photo or packing checklist.
- Tie ads to campaigns. The ads deduction should equal what the ads dashboard shows for the week.
- File the TDS. Check quarterly that the platform's TDS shows up in Form 26AS or AIS against your PAN.
This takes about 30 minutes a week with a spreadsheet and both dashboards open. Disputes have time limits, so the routine only works if you run it every week.
Red Flags to Escalate
- Commission charged at a rate or on a base that differs from your agreement.
- Discounts deducted for offers you did not opt into, or at a higher funding share.
- A rising refund line with no matching rise in complaints on your end.
- Ads deductions that exceed dashboard spend.
- TDS deducted but missing from Form 26AS.
Raise these through the partner support channel with order IDs and screenshots. Recovered amounts from a single persistent error can add up to more than a month of ad budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much TDS do Swiggy and Zomato deduct from restaurant payouts?
As e-commerce operators they deduct TDS under the e-commerce provisions of the Income-tax Act, at 0.1% of the gross amount since October 2024. It is not a cost: it is credited against your income-tax liability, provided your PAN is linked and the deduction shows in Form 26AS.
Do restaurants pay GST on Swiggy and Zomato orders?
Not on the food itself. The platform collects and deposits the 5% GST on restaurant food it delivers. You do pay 18% GST on the platform's commission and fees, which registered businesses can generally claim as input tax credit.
How often should I reconcile my aggregator payouts?
Weekly, in line with the payout cycle. Errors and unfair refunds can only be disputed within a limited window, and small weekly gaps are much easier to trace than a quarter's worth at once.
Not sure where your payout is going? Plateful Consulting audits Swiggy and Zomato statements line by line and fixes the discounts, ads and refund leaks behind a high take rate. Book a payout audit.