Three ways GST can impact your online shopping experience

As the country prepares to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1, e-commerce websites are scrambling to exhaust the existing stock.

Some websites are offering discounts ranging from 20 to 90 percent on various products.

The government has not yet clarified on rules for Amazon, eBay and other such websites that transact in foreign currency.

Online shopping is all set to become expensive from July 1 as GST kicks-in. Here are the reasons:

Faster Delivery

Currently, the seller has to file logistics bills for various states that the delivery will pass through. However, with GST, there won't be separate paperwork for each state. This will make delivery of your products faster.

Decline of Discounts

Discounts may be on their way out as they will attract extra taxes under the GST. An e-commerce company will pay taxes on the price of the product at purchase from the supplier or manufacturer. So, the website will not be in a position to offer discounts too often.

Returns and cancellations will get difficult

E-commerce companies have a cancellation fee of almost 18 percent. While they collect taxes at the source, they will have to bear the tax amount themselves and wait for refund from the government in case of cancellations. This will likely disrupt cash flow in e-commerce companies.