Punjab Govt reduces taxes on home chefs

LAHORE: In order to create a favourable 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.

Homechefs are essentially people operating out of their home kitchens who sell food through online platforms. foodpanda currently have several thousand registered homechefs 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 homechefs base in the next two years and take it up to 100,000 registered homechefs.

Nauman Sikandar, CEO foodpanda, while sharing his thoughts said, “This initiative by the Government of Punjab is in-line with our vision of creating favourable business environment for homechefs as they represent a major segment of our portfolio. This move will help grow a new sector which has significant potential for financial and economic inclusion, specifically women economic empowerment. It would be ideal that other provinces also follow suit and implement the same for homechefs.”

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 homechefs business can help create an enabling environment which is well aligned with the government’s poverty alleviation plans.”

The visionary step by the Punjab Government must be supported by other provinces as the sector continues to grow exponentially across the country.

About foodpanda

With over 20,000 restaurant partners across the country and millions of food deliveries every month, foodpanda is Pakistan’s largest e-commerce and online food delivery company. foodpanda provides self-employment income opportunities to thousands of home chefs and delivery riders to earn a successful living as and when they choose to.

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