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Eternal’s food delivery arm Zomato has begun charging an additional ‘Pay on delivery’ fee on some cash-on-delivery (COD) orders, with the charge varying across transactions. Inc42 reviewed multiple orders on which Zomato levied the new fee. In two of these orders, Zomato levied pay-on-delivery fees of ₹5 and ₹13, respectively. The charge was displayed separately from the platform fee, delivery partner fee, restaurant packaging charges, and taxes. Separately, a Zomato user took to X to flag a ₹21 charge for choosing COD. Screengrab of a customer’s post on X flagging the fee hike by the food delivery platform. The variation indicates that the fee is not fixed. However, it remains unclear if the amount is determined by the order value, location, restaurant, customer profile, or other factors. Zomato also displays a message encouraging customers to pay online to avoid the additional charge. It is not clear when the levy was introduced, whether it has been rolled out nationally, or the rationale behind its pricing structure. However, Inc42 has seen the fee on orders placed earlier this month. Inc42 has reached out to Zomato for details about the rollout, fee structure, and rationale behind the charge. The story will be updated upon receiving a response. Another Monetisation Push The new charge comes as Zomato continues to increase customer-facing fees to improve monetisation from its food delivery business. In March, the company raised its platform fee by nearly 20% to ₹14.90 per order from ₹12.50 earlier. The revised fee was being levied on a pre-GST basis, with the hike implemented pan-India. Zomato’s rival Swiggy subsequently increased its platform fee by more than 17% to ₹17.58 per order from ₹14.99. The company said the revised levy would help it operate and maintain its platform. Unlike the platform fee, which applies irrespective of the mode of payment, Zomato’s new levy is linked to a customer’s decision to pay at the time of delivery. It makes COD orders more expensive while the company explicitly encourages customers to switch to online payments to avoid the charge. The move comes at a time when competition in India’s food delivery market is widening beyond Zomato and Swiggy. Flipkart is piloting its food delivery service Eat In in Bengaluru, beginning with internal employee testing. The ecommerce major reportedly plans to charge restaurants a commission of 10%–11% per order, potentially undercutting the commission rates charged by incumbents. Rapido has also expanded its food delivery play with Ownly, which it formally launched in March 2026 after testing the service in parts of Bengaluru. Meanwhile, quick food delivery startup Swish raised $24 Mn earlier this week in a funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments to expand its kitchen network and enter new cities. In a separate development, Zomato recently laid off around 240 employees as it shut down its customer support operations in Hyderabad. The company is also experimenting with rapid food delivery through vending machines called “Zomato Now”, which have reportedly been installed at corporate offices in Gurugram in partnership with restaurants. On the financial front, Eternal reported a consolidated net profit of ₹92 Cr in the first quarter of FY27, up nearly 3.7X from ₹25 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Its operating revenue surged 182% YoY to ₹20,211 Cr during the quarter.
document fetched 2026-09-13 02:52 · canonical https://inc42.com/buzz/zomato-starts-charging-cash-on-delivery-customers-up-to-%e2%82%b921-extra