E-commerce platforms Eternal's Zomato, Blinkit, Meesho's Valmo facilitate ITR refunds for delivery partners-What we know
New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- Eternal's companies Zomato and Blinkit and Meesho's Valmo have said that they facilitated ITR refunds for lakhs of delivery partners associated with the food aggregator, grocery app, and clothing platform, respectively.
In separate statements, both e-commerce majors claimed to have helped workers, including a number of first timers, file their income-tax returns for FY26 / AY27. Here's all we know
Eternal companies Zomato and Blinkit said they collectively facilitated ITR filing for 2.10 lakh delivery partners this year, helping unlock Rs. 33.6 crore in tax refunds for them. The official statement on Thursday added that of the total filers, around 75% were first-timers, noting that their initiative helped more delivery partners enter the formal financial system.
"For many delivery partners, this may be their first experience with formal financial services. The aim is to make that experience useful and accessible and help delivery partners get easier access to credit and become more financially secure over time," said Aditya Mangla, CEO, Zomato.
The statement added that on average each delivery partner who filed returns received a refund of approximately Rs.1,600, at an applicable TDS rate of 1%.
As per the statement, delivery partners received subsidised rate through a third-party service provider directly from the Zomato or Blinkit Delivery Partner app.
In another statement, Meesho said that its logistics arm Valmo, made ITR filing "simpler and more accessible" for delivery partners, including bike riders, among whom, nearly 70% were first timers.
"Around 10,000 Valmo delivery partners have initiated their ITR filing, with refunds worth close to Rs.2 crore claimed so far," it stated, adding that the programme launched in June, helped partners understand and fulfil their applicable tax-filing obligations, claim refunds of excess TDS where eligible, and build a formal financial record. Workers included were
"It is particularly encouraging that nearly two-thirds of those who have initiated filing are first-time filers, reinforcing the potential for initiatives like this to drive greater financial inclusion," stated Dhiresh Bansal, Chief Financial Officer, Meesho.
To make the filing process easily accessible, Valmo reached delivery partners through WhatsApp and its internal Training Management System, with communications rolled out in seven languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and Bengali. Partners could access the ClearTax platform directly through these communications to initiate their ITR filing, with support available throughout the process, it added.
Notably, a record over 7.8 crore ITRs have been filed for AY27 till August 31, the income tax department said. This is an increase from the over 7.3 crore ITRs filed by the deadline last year (16 September 2025), PTI reported.
The number also includes over 5.9 crore ITR-1 and ITR-2, which were filed by 31 July, the report added. Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at contentservices@htdigital.in