GST TCS and income-tax TDS on marketplace sales: what sellers should check

When you sell through a marketplace, it keeps back two amounts from your payouts and pays them to the government on your behalf: TCS under GST and TDS under income tax. Both can be used against your own tax, but only if they are matched with your records and claimed on time.

GST TCS

• E-commerce operators collect TCS on the net value of taxable supplies made through them. Since 10 July 2024 the rate is 0.5% (0.25% CGST and 0.25% SGST, or 0.5% IGST), following Notification No. 15/2024–Central Tax.
• The marketplace reports this in its own monthly return, GSTR-8. The amounts then appear on your GST portal, where you accept them so that they are credited to your electronic cash ledger.
• Check that the sales value each marketplace reports matches the sales in your own GST returns. Differences can lead to notices.

Income-tax TDS

• E-commerce operators deduct TDS at 0.1% on the gross amount of sales made through them. The rate was 1% until 30 September 2024.
• This TDS appears in your tax credit statement on the income-tax e-filing portal and is claimed in your income-tax return.
• Check that the TDS shown on the portal matches the TDS deducted in your settlement reports, for every marketplace and every month.

A simple monthly routine

1. Download each marketplace's settlement and tax reports.
2. Total the TCS and TDS deducted by each marketplace.
3. Compare the totals with the GST portal and the income-tax portal.
4. Accept the GST TCS credit, and follow up with the marketplace on any mismatch.

Rates and rules change from time to time, so check the current position before relying on any figure here.