In 2026, standalone restaurants in India charge 5% GST with no input tax credit, whether the food is dine-in, takeaway or delivery. Only restaurants inside "specified premises" — hotels with any room tariff above ₹7,500 a night — charge 18% GST (and can claim ITC). And if you sell through Swiggy or Zomato, the aggregator pays that 5% for you, so charging it again on your own bill is a costly double-tax mistake.
Restaurant GST trips up more owners than almost any other tax because the rate depends on where you operate, not what you sell. Get it wrong and you either overcharge diners, underpay the department, or double-bill on aggregator orders. Here is the full 2026 picture — the rates, the Swiggy/Zomato rule, the composition-scheme trap, and how your billing counter should handle all of it.
GST on restaurant food in India 2026: the rates
| Type of restaurant | GST rate | Input tax credit (ITC) |
|---|---|---|
| Standalone restaurant (dine-in, takeaway, delivery) | 5% | Not allowed |
| Cloud kitchen / delivery-only | 5% | Not allowed |
| Restaurant in a hotel with room tariff above ₹7,500/night | 18% | Allowed |
| Outdoor catering (non-specified premises) | 5% | Not allowed |
The Government updated the restaurant GST framework effective 22 September 2025, but the core split held: nearly every standalone eatery stays at 5% without ITC, and the 18%-with-ITC slab is reserved for restaurants inside premium hotels. There is no AC-versus-non-AC distinction any more — an air-conditioned cafe and a roadside dhaba both sit at 5%.
The ₹7,500 line: what "specified premises" means
The only thing that pushes a restaurant to 18% is being located in specified premises — a hotel where the declared tariff of any room crosses ₹7,500 per night. If your eatery is a standalone outlet, a food court stall, a cloud kitchen or a cafe that is not inside such a hotel, you are at 5%. The trade-off: 5% comes with zero input tax credit, so the GST you pay on rent, ingredients, packaging, equipment and electricity is a sunk cost you cannot set off.
Selling on Swiggy and Zomato: do not charge GST twice
This is where most billing mistakes happen. Since 1 January 2022, under Section 9(5) of the CGST Act, food-delivery aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato are liable to collect and pay the 5% GST on restaurant orders placed through them. That means you do not add 5% GST again on the food value of an aggregator order — the platform already handles it. Charge it twice and you have overbilled the customer and muddled your returns.
Two things are still yours to track: the aggregator's commission and platform fees are taxed at 18% (that is a cost to you, not something you collect), and your direct orders — walk-in, phone, your own website — still carry the normal 5% that you collect and deposit. A clean POS keeps aggregator sales and direct sales in separate buckets so your GSTR filing reconciles without a headache. Pair it with the correct GST invoice format on every direct bill.
The composition-scheme trap for restaurants
Small restaurants under ₹1.5 crore turnover can opt for the composition scheme and pay a flat 5% on turnover with far lighter filing. But there is a catch that catches many owners out: if you sell through any e-commerce operator — Swiggy, Zomato, Magicpin — you cannot be a composition dealer. Section 10(2)(d) bars it. So a composition restaurant is a cash-and-counter or own-delivery business only. The moment you list on an aggregator, you must be a regular GST taxpayer. Decide this before you onboard, not after.
How your billing counter should handle restaurant GST in 2026: 5 checks
- Right slab baked in. The POS should apply 5% by default for a standalone outlet — not 18%, and not a per-item guess by the cashier.
- Aggregator orders flagged separately. Swiggy/Zomato sales must be recorded without re-charging the 5%, and reconciled against the payout statement so nothing is billed twice or missed.
- KOT to kitchen, not just a bill. A kitchen order ticket should fire to the kitchen the moment the order is punched, with table or token number, so billing and cooking never drift apart during a rush.
- Table, takeaway and delivery modes. One system should handle dine-in table management, quick takeaway tokens and delivery in the same sales ledger — see the billing software checklist before you buy.
- Fast payment and stock. Built-in UPI acceptance clears queues, and linking sales to ingredient inventory tells you what is running low before the dinner rush hits.
Frequently asked questions
What is the GST rate on restaurant food in India in 2026?
Standalone restaurants — including dine-in, takeaway, delivery and cloud kitchens — charge 5% GST without input tax credit. Only restaurants inside hotels with a room tariff above ₹7,500 per night charge 18% GST, and those can claim ITC.
Do I charge GST on Swiggy and Zomato orders?
No. Under Section 9(5) of the CGST Act, effective 1 January 2022, the aggregator collects and pays the 5% GST on restaurant orders placed through its platform. You should not add 5% again on the food value of those orders. Your direct orders still carry the usual 5% that you collect.
Can a restaurant in the GST composition scheme sell on Zomato or Swiggy?
No. Section 10(2)(d) of the CGST Act bars composition dealers from supplying through an e-commerce operator. A composition-scheme restaurant can only do counter and own-delivery sales; listing on an aggregator forces you to register as a regular taxpayer.
Is there still a difference between AC and non-AC restaurants for GST?
No. The old air-conditioned versus non-air-conditioned distinction is gone. Both are taxed at 5% without ITC as standalone restaurants. The only rate split now is standalone (5%) versus restaurants in premium hotels above ₹7,500 per night (18%).
Bottom line
For almost every cafe, dhaba, cloud kitchen and standalone restaurant in India, GST in 2026 is a flat 5% with no input credit — the 18% slab only applies inside premium hotels. The real money leaks are double-charging on Swiggy/Zomato orders and misjudging the composition scheme. The fix is a POS that bakes in the right slab, separates aggregator from direct sales, and fires KOTs cleanly. See how RichPOS handles restaurant and cafe billing, KOT, tables and aggregator reconciliation so your counter stays fast and your GST stays correct.
Sources: CGST Act Sections 9(5) & 10(2)(d); GST restaurant framework effective 22 September 2025; Notification 17/2017 (as amended, effective 1 January 2022) on e-commerce operator liability; 2026 India restaurant-GST guides. Rates are indicative — confirm current notifications before filing.
