Eating Out Or Takeaway: How GST Will Affect Your Restaurant Bill

Since the roll out of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, customers and business owners are getting accustomed to the new taxation rules and registering under the indirect tax regime to claim input credits. According to the rules, GST on eating at 5-star hotels has become slightly more expensive but the tax rate on takeaways has led to some confusion, prompting the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to clarify the issue. “A uniform GST rate of 18 per cent will be charged on takeaway as well as food served from a non-AC area of a hotel or restaurant if any part of it has a facility of air conditioning” CBEC stated in a tweet.
 
For example if you have ordered take-away from the ground floor of a restaurant which is not air-conditioned, you will still have to pay 18 per cent tax if the outlet has an AC area in some other part of the establishment.