Restaurant and Food Delivery GST: Platform, Invoice and Rate Controls

Restaurant food sold directly and restaurant service supplied through an e-commerce operator can have different return and payment mechanics even where the kitchen and customer are the same.

Use the HSN / Goods GST Rate Finder to apply these points to your figures.

What the business should understand

• The 5%-without-ITC rate is the default for restaurant service, but it is not universal: restaurant service at a hotel “specified premises” (broadly, a room tariff above ₹7,500 in the preceding financial year) is taxed at 18% WITH input tax credit instead — check the premises classification before assuming the standard rate applies.
• The Section 9(5) shift to the ECO applies only to the notified restaurant-service value itself; the same order can still generate a separate, ordinary goods supply (a packaged sauce, a bottled drink) that stays the restaurant’s own liability with its own TCS treatment — one settlement statement can legitimately mix both mechanisms.
• Two invoices exist for the same transaction and they serve different purposes: the customer-facing bill (often issued by or through the platform) and the platform’s own commission/settlement invoice to the restaurant — reconciling GST only against the customer bill while ignoring the commission invoice’s own GST/ITC treatment is a common gap.
• The restaurant’s direct counter, takeaway, catering, packaged-goods and platform supplies should not be merged into one tax rule — each channel can carry a different rate, ITC position and invoicing party.
• Platform commission, advertising, logistics and other services supplied to the restaurant carry their own GST and ITC treatment, separate from the restaurant-service rate itself.

The five-point review

Practical example

How to apply the framework

Create a product-channel matrix for dine-in, takeaway, catering, packaged goods and each platform. Configure the POS and marketplace mapping accordingly.

Reconcile daily gross orders, cancellations, discounts, delivery charges, platform commission, section 9(5) value and direct sales. Net bank payout is not turnover.

Decision workflow

Define the legal question before changing the return

Identify the GSTIN, tax period, transaction, document and exact statutory question. Review supply, channel and taxpayer together. Freeze the source data so that later ERP edits do not destroy the evidence used for the decision.

Reconcile from commercial reality to portal data

Start with the contract or commercial event. Move through the invoice, receipt or movement evidence, e-invoice or e-way bill, accounting entry, return and electronic ledger. Classify each difference as timing, error, ineligible amount, statutory exception, disputed position or completed correction. Avoid a plug entry whose only purpose is to make two reports equal.

Record the conclusion and future control

Prepare a concise position note with facts, authority, amount, alternative view and approval. Preserve the filing acknowledgement and update the responsible master data, vendor rule, invoice workflow or monthly checklist. The objective is not only to survive one review but to prevent the same issue in the next period.

Action checklist

• Classify every food and service line.
• Map direct versus ECO liability.
• Separate section 9(5) and section 52 transactions.
• Control customer invoices and platform statements.
• Review ITC by business line.
• Reconcile gross orders to returns and bank.

Evidence to keep

• Menu and product catalogue
• Platform agreement and settlement
• Customer invoices/order data
• Commission and advertising invoices
• GSTR-1/3B and ECO reports

Warning signs

Finin2min takeaway