GST on Cab Booking Through Ola or Uber
GSTZone Desk · Updated 2026
Short answer
Cab aggregator rides (Ola, Uber and similar radio-taxi services) are taxed at 5% GST, charged on the FULL fare you pay — not just the commission the platform keeps.
In detail
A common assumption is that GST on a cab ride should only apply to the app’s cut of the fare, since that’s the part the platform actually earns. That’s not how it works: the 5% GST is levied on the entire value of the transportation service — the full fare shown on your receipt — not on the platform’s margin.
Cab aggregators have historically been treated as the taxable person responsible for collecting and paying this GST on behalf of the drivers on their platform, under a specific e-commerce-operator liability provision, rather than each individual driver separately registering and charging GST.
That structure has been shifting: some aggregators are moving toward models where individually GST-registered drivers can charge and remit the tax themselves instead of the platform doing it centrally. Where a business model is genuinely in transition like this, it’s worth confirming the current treatment directly rather than assuming last year’s structure still applies — this is an area still settling, not one with a single frozen answer.
GSTZone tip
If you run a business and need ITC on cab travel for employees, check the invoice carefully — passenger transport service ITC is blocked under Section 17(5) for most businesses regardless of who charged the GST, so the 5% you paid usually isn’t creditable anyway.
Related questions
Why is the rate 5% and not 12% or 18%?+
5% without ITC is the notified rate for radio-taxi and similar passenger transport services under the standard rate schedule; a 12%-with-ITC option exists for the service provider in some structures, but 5% is what most aggregator rides carry.
Do auto-rickshaw bookings through an app carry the same GST?+
Passenger transport in a non-air-conditioned contract carriage, including many auto-rickshaw and similar services, is generally exempt from GST — it’s specifically radio-taxi/cab services that attract the 5% rate.
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