Karnataka Govt. fixes extra 5% plus GST for auto services run by ride-hailing apps

The Department of Transport and Road Safety of Karnataka notifies fixing 5 percent service fees plus GST for auto services provided by the mobile app based taxi accumulators such as Uber, Ola and Rapido.

The issued notification stated that the taxi aggregators can collect the service fees of 5% plus GST of auto fare fixed by the authority from the Customers.

For the first 2 kilometers, the government permitted app-based aggregators to charge a minimum fare of Rs 30, a service fee of 5%, and GST for their autorickshaw services.

According to a senior official, the department objected to the ride-hailing apps’ plan to raise the service fee for their autorickshaw services on November 16 before the Karnataka High Court.

Representatives of Ola and Uber suggested that they be given permission to enable dynamic pricing by imposing a 25% service fee. On rainy days, Ola planned to increase the platform fee and double the base cost from Rs 30 to Rs 60.

The Adarsha Auto and Taxi Drivers Union President, M Manjunath, praised the government’s most recent decision and stated it was in the best interests of both passengers and autorickshaw drivers.

The stakeholder meetings and general fare fixation for the autorickshaw services provided by ride-hailing apps were ordered by the court in October.

Additionally, it gave ride-hailing apps some relief after the government sought to outlaw their autorickshaw services. After that, the apps were permitted to add GST and an additional 10% to their autorickshaw service prices.