During the company’s annual general meeting, Zomato’s Chief Financial Officer, Akshant Goyal, highlighted the growth potential in smaller cities and expressed the company’s intent to expand into more cities, including larger ones with room for growth.

The Zomato management also addressed the issue of merging its three apps—Zomato, Blinkit, and the forthcoming District app for ‘going-out.’ The management clarified that, for now, they plan to keep the three apps separate.

Recently, Zomato has strengthened its ‘going-out’ segment by acquiring Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business for Rs 2,048 crore. This acquisition includes Orbgen Technologies Pvt Ltd, which was acquired for Rs 1,264.6 crore and focuses on movie ticketing, and Wasteland Entertainment Pvt Ltd, which was acquired for Rs 783.8 crore and specializes in event ticketing.

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Bafna also proposes reforms aimed to streamline GST registration via a Tatkal system and resolve working capital issues by unblocking ITC and enabling cross-utilization of credits. “We expect the upcoming budget to introduce crucial measures to uplift the startup segment in India. The tax neutrality on shareholding migration (Reverse Flip) will empower startups, boosting investment and economic growth.”

He adds: “Relaxing vesting periods for ESOPs post-flip and harmonizing capital gains tax rates will ease operations. The proposed Tatkal system for GST registration will speed up approvals, facilitating faster expansion. Easing GST registration compliance through a proposed Tatkal system will address lengthy wait times for approvals, allowing for faster expansion. Moreover, unblocking accumulated ITC, a significant working capital bottleneck, through proposals like selling ITC as tradable scrips, providing refunds for a stipulated period, and permitting cross-utilisation of CGST and IGST credits across group GST registrations, will enable effective use of funds for business operations.”

Introducing these reforms, Bafna believes will foster innovation and create a conducive environment for startup growth in India.

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