Restaurant associations have extended the deadline to halt accepting orders from Swiggy and Zomato until August 31, following fresh discussions with the food delivery platforms on Thursday. The extension comes as a relief for both platforms, as restaurant bodies had earlier warned that member restaurants could stop accepting orders from the platforms from August 15 if their demands were not addressed. Representatives of Restaurant Associations and executives from Swiggy and Zomato met at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday to discuss concerns raised by restaurants over commissions, discounting practices and payment settlements.
Following Thursday's meeting, restaurant associations have secured significant commitments from both platforms. The joint representation, including the National Restaurant Association of India with 27 chapters across India, the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotel Association, Karnataka State Hotel Association and the Karnataka Bakery, Sweets & Caterers Association, agreed to address key industry concerns. Among the key assurances provided by Zomato, the platform agreed that restaurants and darshinis would have the choice to opt into promotional and discount campaigns instead of being enrolled by default. The platform also agreed to seek explicit consent through email or OTP before enrolling restaurants in promotional programmes.
Restaurant bodies have been seeking greater transparency in food delivery platform operations, with their demands including better visibility into commission structures, an end to forced discounts and deep promotional campaigns, timely and transparent payment settlements, and an end to unilateral deductions from restaurant payouts. The dispute has been brewing for several weeks, with restaurant bodies publicly raising concerns over platform practices in late July, arguing that rising commissions, opaque deductions and discount-led customer acquisition strategies were hurting restaurant profitability. Between July 28 and July 30, associations had warned that they could stop accepting orders from the platforms if the issues remained unresolved.
The outcome of these negotiations is significant for both restaurants and food delivery platforms, with cloud or dark kitchens relying on food delivery apps for virtually 100% of revenue, making platform access critical for business continuity. For dine-in restaurants, delivery contributes anywhere between 5% and 30% of revenue, depending on the format, location and customer mix. Despite the public standoff, sources said there has been negligible impact on business operations so far, with restaurants continuing to process orders through both platforms. They added that discussions have been constructive and there is broad alignment on working towards a mutually acceptable solution, with both sides agreeing to continue negotiations before the revised August 31 deadline.
