Ola seeks loan waiver, delayed tax payments for drivers amid coronavirus crisis

Softbank-backed ride-hailing company Ola seeks loan waivers and delayed tax payments for its drivers in India owing to the coronavirus crisis in the country, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown across the country in order to curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Ola is looking for loan waivers and deferring tax payments for drivers to help them make up for income lost during this crisis, as per the report.

A majority of vehicles on Ola’s platform are owned by drivers and have often been purchased on loan. The drivers then pay off these loans by ferrying passengers. The company’s own fleet gets rented out by drivers who pay a weekly rental of about ₹5,200. Ola had said that it has currently waived the rental for drivers, the report said.

Ola wants short-term loans for taxi-aggregators that are interest-free in order for them to meet their working capital needs. It is also seeking government aid to secure a 12-month “holiday” on car loan repayments for current drivers and to set up a fund for them, the report said. Ola on Monday had announced a similar COVID-19 fund for its drivers in Australia. It is also looking to get approval for a six-month delay in paying certain taxes to the government.

Former Congress minister RV Deshpande on Monday had urged the Karnataka Chief Minister to announce a support package covering small businesses, daily wage earners, pushcart vendors, Ola/Uber drivers, in the wake of the coronavirus crisis according to a previous report.

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