Social security for Swiggy, Zomato partners: How Karnataka’s new welfare fee for gig workers operates

The fee is capped at Rs 1.5 per transaction. The collected fees will go to the Gig Workers Welfare Fund, established to provide various welfare services for the state’s gig workers.

For ride-hailing services, the fee is capped at Rs 0.50 for two-wheelers, Rs 0.75 for three-wheelers and Rs 1 for four-wheelers. For instance, for a cab fare of Rs 400 or Rs 1,000, the payout towards the welfare fee will only be Rs 1.

Similarly, Rs 0.50 is the cap for food and grocery delivery services, logistics services and e-marketplace services using two-wheelers. Light commercial vehicles used in Logistics and e-marketplace services will have a cap of Rs 1. For heavy commercial vehicles used in logistics services, the cap is set at Rs 1.50.

“The bank details for making the payment of the welfare fee will be provided on the website of the Labour Department. Until the authority operationalises the PMFVS (Payment and Welfare Fee Verification System), aggregators or platforms are allowed to self-report to provide details of the payments made to their gig workers for each transaction on a quarterly basis,” the notification read.

The state legislature passed the Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act in August 2025. Though the welfare fund was among the assurances made by the Congress in its manifesto, the government had been dragging its heels over notifying the exact quantum of welfare fee levied on aggregators.

The Act specified a fee ranging from 1 per cent to 5 per cent of the payout made to the aggregator. The notification of the quantum was issued six months after the Act due to delays in the formation of the Karnataka Gig Workers Welfare Board, which fixes the amount.