Zomato Responds After Restaurant Owner Complains About 60% Payout Deduction

The food delivery industry has proved to be one of the most disruptive sectors in the current digital era. It changed the way people consume food and the way restaurants function. What started as a convenience service offered by a few restaurants has now become a multi-billion-dollar industry driven by technology, logistics, and the changing lifestyles of consumers. For merchants, these services have created digital real estate, order management systems, and logistics for delivery.

But in the midst of this growth, the industry has also created a never-ending debate about profitability, especially for restaurant businesses that rely on these services for their survival and livelihood. A recent incident involving a Zomato merchant highlighted these concerns. A restaurant business owner posted on the social media platform X that over 60% of his payment had been deducted by the platform. Zomato has now reacted to his allegations.

The merchant labelled allegations against Zomato about 60% payout deductions

The merchant, Ravi Shankar, on X (previously Twitter), complained about Zomato’s excessive deductions that substantially impacted his payout amount. In his post, he wrote,

Stop looting us @deepigoyal @albinder @zomatocare @zomato Deducting more than 60% from payout is day light robbery. You guys are literally misusing the innocence of the merchant. That day is not far when every merchant will abuse you guys. Stop it before it’s too late.

The merchant also provided screenshots from the Zomato partner dashboard to substantiate his allegations. According to the screenshots, the merchant had a total order value of Rs 76,757.42 for a certain period. However, several deductions substantially impacted the final payout amount.

The total deductions for the order alone were Rs 20,232.12. This included a base service fee of Rs 17,544.47, a long-distance enablement fee of Rs 2,000, and payment mechanism fees of Rs 1,412.28. Other deductions included Rs 7,370.04 for tax deductions and Rs 13,440.20 for ‘investments in growth.’ After deducting all the charges, the estimated payout amount was Rs 35,771.10, which was less than half of the original total order value.

In another breakdown, the merchant shared that the total number of orders was 222, with a net order value of Rs 72,482.20. After making deductions such as Rs 19,091.20 for order-level deductions, Rs 6,957.08 for tax deductions, and Rs 14,360 for growth investments, the final estimated payout was Rs 32,073.32.

The merchant’s post expresses his frustration with the complexity and magnitude of the deductions made on the restaurant’s earnings on aggregator sites.

Have a look at the original post

Ravi shankar/X

Zomato responds to the above-mentioned complaint

Responding to the merchant’s complaint, Zomato acknowledged the concern and indicated that it would look into the issue. The support team of Zomato responded to the merchant’s post, asking him to provide more information so that the deductions could be checked. Zomato replied,

Hey Ravi, we understand your concern and are here to assist you. Please share your restaurant ID via DM, we will connect with you further.

Hey Ravi, we understand your concern and are here to assist you. Please share your restaurant ID via DM, we will connect with you further. https://t.co/jcTFuGT2Se

— Zomato Care (@zomatocare) February 5, 2026

Although the company has not shared a detailed explanation regarding this particular merchant’s issue, it is clear from the response that the support services of partners are still available for any further assistance regarding payment calculations. Food delivery services such as Zomato usually involve various types of deductions before finally paying the amount to the restaurant partners. However, from time to time, the restaurant partners have expressed their concerns regarding the transparency of these deductions and their effects on the profitability of the business.

What do you think about this? Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section of this article.