In order to create a favorable business environment, the Government of Punjab has decided to provide a reduction in sales tax being charged on commissions for home-based chefs.
The rebate reduces sales tax from 16% to 5%, allowing better profitability and growth potential for home chefs operating on online food delivery platforms such as foodpanda.
Home chefs are essentially people operating out of their home kitchens who sell food through online platforms. Foodpanda currently has several thousand registered home chefs who have been taken on board after stringent routine checks for food hygiene, quality, safety, packaging, etc. The company’s aim is to increase the home chefs base in the next two years and take it up to 100,000 registered home chefs.
Nauman Sikandar, CEO foodpanda, while sharing his thoughts said, “This initiative by the Government of Punjab is in line with our vision of creating a favorable business environment for home chefs as they represent a major segment of our portfolio. This move will help grow a new sector that has significant potential for financial and economic inclusion, specifically women’s economic empowerment. It would be ideal that other provinces also follow suit and implement the same for home chefs.”
Zainulabidin Sahi, Chairman Punjab Revenue Authority, stated “This step by the Punjab Government will support home-based entrepreneurs and drive economic viability for a large segment of the society. The home chef business can help create an enabling environment which is well aligned with the government’s poverty alleviation plans.”
This visionary step by the Punjab Government requires support from other provinces as the sector continues to grow exponentially across the country.
