GST on Restaurant Food in India 2026: 5% vs 18% Rules

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" (broadly, a hotel that supplied any room above ₹7,500 a night in the previous financial year, or that opted in) 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 what your billing counter should check.

GST on restaurant food in India 2026: the rates

The specified-premises test was revised from 1 April 2025. The 56th GST Council (3 September 2025) did not list restaurant services among its rate changes, so nearly every standalone eatery stays at 5% without ITC, and 18% with ITC applies only inside specified premises. 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

Since 1 April 2025, a restaurant charges 18% (with ITC) only if it runs inside "specified premises". That means a hotel that, in the previous financial year, supplied any room at a value above ₹7,500 per unit per day, or a hotel that has filed a declaration opting its premises in (filed between 1 January and 31 March for the next year, or by a new applicant within 15 days of applying for registration). The old "declared tariff" test no longer applies. A standalone outlet, food-court stall, cloud kitchen or cafe outside such a hotel charges 5% with no input tax credit, and the GST Council has clarified that a standalone restaurant cannot declare itself specified premises. 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 check one thing first. Section 10(2)(d) keeps composition dealers out of supplies made through e-commerce operators that collect TCS. Whether that bar applies to restaurant orders where Swiggy or Zomato pays the GST under Section 9(5) is still debated. Confirm with your CA before you list on an aggregator as a composition restaurant.

How your billing counter should handle restaurant GST in 2026: 3 checks

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Related guides: Best Billing Software for Bakery & Sweet Shops (2026).

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 specified premises in hotels. The real money leaks are double-charging on Swiggy/Zomato orders and misjudging the composition scheme. Apply the right slab by default and keep aggregator sales apart from direct sales.

RichPOS is retail billing software, not a restaurant system: it has no KOT or table management. If you also run a counter shop, see GST billing software.

Sources: Notification 05/2025-Central Tax (Rate), 16 January 2025 (new "specified premises" definition from 1 April 2025); PIB release on the 56th GST Council, 3 September 2025 (no change to restaurant rates; standalone restaurants cannot opt in); CGST Act, Section 10; CGST Act Section 9(5) and Notification 17/2017-Central Tax (Rate) as amended (aggregators pay GST from 1 January 2022). Checked 22 October 2026; confirm your case with your CA before filing.