Restaurant GST Rate in India — 5% or 18%?

For the vast majority of restaurants it is 5% without ITC. It becomes 18% (with ITC) only when the restaurant is in specified premises — a hotel where any room's declared tariff is ₹7,500 or more per night, which covers most 5-star hotels. An ordinary standalone restaurant always charges 5%.

The single deciding factor for a normal restaurant is location. If it operates inside specified premises (a hotel with a room tariff of ₹7,500 or more per night), the rate is 18% with ITC. Every other restaurant — standalone, budget-hotel, takeaway, cloud kitchen — is at 5% without ITC.

Yes, but only if it is located in specified premises — a hotel with a declared room tariff of ₹7,500 or more per night. Such restaurants charge 18% and can claim ITC. An ordinary standalone restaurant cannot charge 18%; it must charge 5% without ITC.

The same 5% as non-AC restaurants. The earlier distinction between air-conditioned and non-AC restaurants was removed, and all standalone restaurants — AC or non-AC — now charge a uniform 5% without ITC. Only specified-premises hotel restaurants are at 18%.

It depends on the hotel's room tariff. If any room is declared at ₹7,500 or more per night, the in-house restaurant charges 18% with ITC. If the hotel's rooms are all below ₹7,500, the restaurant charges 5% without ITC like any standalone restaurant.

Yes. Food ordered through Zomato is taxed at 5%. Since 1 January 2022, Zomato is an Electronic Commerce Operator (ECO) under Section 9(5) of the CGST Act, so Zomato — not the restaurant — collects and pays the 5% GST on the food value to the government.

Yes, identically to Zomato. Swiggy is an ECO under Section 9(5), so it pays the 5% GST on the food value on the restaurant's behalf. The restaurant does not separately charge GST on such orders but still reports them in its returns.

The platform. For orders placed through Zomato or Swiggy, the ECO is liable to collect and deposit the 5% GST on the food value. The restaurant bills without collecting that GST. Separate delivery and platform/convenience fees charged by the app carry 18% GST as the platform's own service.

Yes, at the same 5% as dine-in. A hot meal parcelled at the counter remains a restaurant supply, so there is no separate packaged-food rate for it. Only sealed, pre-packaged manufactured food follows product-wise HSN rates.

No. Restaurants on the 5% rate cannot claim Input Tax Credit — this is the trade-off for the lower rate. GST paid on rent, kitchen equipment, cooking gas, packaging and raw materials becomes an embedded cost. Only specified-premises restaurants charging 18% can claim full ITC on their inputs.

A flat 5% (2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST) on turnover up to ₹1.5 crore (₹75 lakh in special-category states). A composition restaurant pays this from its own pocket, cannot charge GST on the bill, cannot claim ITC, and files quarterly CMP-08 plus annual GSTR-4.

A restaurant supplies a service, so registration is mandatory once aggregate turnover crosses ₹20 lakh in a financial year (₹10 lakh for special-category states). Restaurants supplying through an ECO like Zomato/Swiggy, or making inter-state supplies, may need to register regardless of turnover.

Cloud kitchens (delivery-only, no dine-in) are treated as restaurants and charge 5% GST with no ITC. When they sell exclusively through Zomato/Swiggy, the platform pays the 5% under the ECO rule; on orders through their own website or phone, the kitchen collects and pays the 5% itself.

Outdoor catering away from the caterer's premises is taxed at 5% without ITC — food served at offices, weddings and events. If the catering is provided inside specified premises (such as a luxury-hotel banquet with a room tariff of ₹7,500 or more per night), it attracts 18% with ITC.

Alcoholic liquor for human consumption is outside GST and taxed under state VAT/excise instead. A restaurant bill that includes drinks shows 5% GST on the food portion and separate state VAT on the alcohol portion — the two are billed under different tax heads.