Food and hospitality
A chaat centre prepares pani puri, bhel and dahi puri to order, which is an eating-joint supply taxed at 5% without input tax credit once registered. Most chaat outlets are small enough to stay below the GST threshold. Where registered, the bill should show plate counts, party orders delivered to homes or offices, any outdoor counter booked for an event, and the FSSAI number. Packaged sev or puri sold separately for home use are goods with their own HSN.
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Or create these invoices in software, free| Description | HSN/SAC | Qty | Rate (₹) | Taxable (₹) | GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pani puri, 6 pcs - eating-joint service | 996331 | 4 PLATE | 50.00 | 200.00 | 5% |
| Bhel puri - eating-joint service | 996331 | 2 PLATE | 60.00 | 120.00 | 5% |
| Dahi puri - eating-joint service | 996331 | 2 PLATE | 80.00 | 160.00 | 5% |
| Nylon sev, loose for home | 210690 | 0.5 KG | 280.00 | 140.00 | 5% |
| Taxable value | ₹620.00 | ||||
| GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state) | ₹31.00 | ||||
| Invoice total | ₹651.00 | ||||
Sample prices are illustrative. Check the GST rate for your exact item or service before billing.
Rule 46 of the CGST Rules applies to every tax invoice, including this one:
Read more: POS Billing System: What It Does and How to Run It Daily · Composition Scheme Under GST: Is It Right for Your Business? · Billing for Service Businesses: Models, GST and Best Practice
Chaat is assembled in front of the customer and eaten at the stall or packed. That makes it a supply by an eating joint for consumption on or away from the premises, which the restaurant entry taxes at 5% without credit. Even when the customer takes the chaat home in a parcel, restaurant service includes takeaway, so the rate does not change.
Some chaat centres sell sev, papdi and puri packs for home preparation. These are goods. Namkeen-type items such as sev fall under 2106 90 at 5%. Bill them in a separate section with HSN codes, because the input tax credit position for goods differs from the no-credit food service.
A chaat counter at a wedding is event-based catering, not counter sales. Outdoor catering is taxed at 5% without credit, unless supplied at specified premises such as a hotel charging over Rs 7,500 per room per day, where 18% with credit applies. Ask the organiser about the venue before quoting a tax-inclusive price, and take an advance with a receipt voucher.
A chaat centre supplies services and needs registration only when aggregate turnover crosses the services threshold, generally Rs 20 lakh. Above that, composition for restaurant service can be chosen, letting the outlet pay a flat percentage on turnover and issue bills of supply. A composition outlet must not show GST on bills and must display the composition declaration.
Chaat centres take most payments by UPI QR codes. Bank statements show every receipt, so the sales register should match. A simple app that issues a bill number for each plate sale, or a daily summary bill for small B2C sales, keeps records consistent.
Some chaat centres add a small charge for parcel containers or extra pani. Whatever is charged to the customer as part of the same order is part of the value of the food service and takes the same 5% rate. Avoid separate unbilled cash charges for parcels, since every rupee collected should be on the bill and in the sales register.
A registered chaat centre charges 5% without input tax credit on chaat served or packed.
Only above the services threshold, generally Rs 20 lakh of aggregate turnover.
As outdoor catering at 5% without credit, or 18% with credit if the venue is specified premises.
They are goods under 2106 90 at 5%, billed separately from chaat service.
Registered businesses may issue a consolidated tax invoice at the end of the day for small B2C supplies below the prescribed value when the customer does not ask for a bill; check current rules for the limit.
A registered outlet should print SAC 996331 against chaat items. It costs nothing on a POS bill and removes any doubt about whether the supply is goods or service.
No. The pani is part of the plate and the whole plate is one food service at 5% when the outlet is registered.
Sources: GST Council — Notification 11/2017-CT(Rate), consolidated (services rates, heading 9963) · GST Council — Notification 20/2019-CT(Rate), outdoor catering at 5% · CBIC — Notification 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate), goods rate schedules · GST Council — Press release, 56th GST Council recommendations (Sept 2025)
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