Food and hospitality
A private mess serving daily meals to students and working professionals is covered by the restaurant entry, which names messes and canteens, so a registered mess charges 5% without input tax credit. Many messes stay below the registration threshold and charge no GST. A mess bill usually covers a month or a coupon book, so it should show the plan, meal count, absent-day credits, advance received, and FSSAI number, and if the mess is registered, its GSTIN and SAC.
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Or create these invoices in software, free| Description | HSN/SAC | Qty | Rate (₹) | Taxable (₹) | GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two-time veg meal plan (October) | 996331 | 1 MONTH | 3,600.00 | 3,600.00 | 5% |
| Sunday special lunch | 996331 | 4 MEAL | 120.00 | 480.00 | 5% |
| Less: absent days credit (3 days, 6 meals) | 996331 | -6 MEAL | 60.00 | -360.00 | 5% |
| Coupon book, 30 meals | 996331 | 1 NOS | 1,950.00 | 1,950.00 | 5% |
| Taxable value | ₹5,670.00 | ||||
| GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state) | ₹283.50 | ||||
| Invoice total | ₹5,953.50 | ||||
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: Composition Scheme Under GST: Is It Right for Your Business? · Credit Note Under GST: When, How and By When to Issue It · Advance Payment Under GST: Receipt Vouchers, Tax and Adjustment
The restaurant entry in Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) refers to a restaurant, eating joint including mess and canteen. So a private mess is taxed at 5% without credit once registered, just like a restaurant. There is no lower rate because members are students. Meals are prepared and served daily, so there is no question of classifying them as goods.
Different rules may apply when an educational institution itself supplies food to its students. Certain services by educational institutions to students are exempt, and the treatment of catering and mess services supplied to institutions depends on the type of institution and the exemption notification. A private mess near a college that bills students directly is not an educational institution and charges GST normally if registered.
When a mess sells a coupon book that can be used for meals, it is collecting payment in advance for a service. Tax is due when the payment is received. Unused coupons that expire may give rise to a question about whether tax should be adjusted; keep a record of coupon books sold, used and expired, and take advice before reversing any tax.
A typical mess is a small business. Below the Rs 20 lakh services threshold, it need not register. Above it, it may consider composition for restaurant service, which lets it pay a flat percentage on turnover and issue bills of supply without GST. Under composition, the mess cannot collect tax from members and must print the composition declaration.
Many messes give credit for days a member is away. If the bill has already been issued, a credit note is the correct way to reduce the value and tax. If absent days are known before the bill, show them as a deduction on the bill itself. Either way, the GST should be calculated on the net amount actually charged.
A registered mess charges 5% without input tax credit, under the same entry as restaurants and canteens.
Only when aggregate turnover crosses the services threshold, generally Rs 20 lakh. FSSAI registration is needed regardless.
Yes, within the turnover limit for restaurant-type services. It then issues bills of supply without GST.
Show them as a deduction on the bill or issue a credit note if the bill was already issued, and compute GST on the net amount.
Payment for coupons is an advance for the service, so tax is due when the payment is received.
Yes. If registered, the mess must issue a bill or invoice for each supply or a monthly bill for the plan, whatever the mode of payment. Even unregistered messes benefit from numbered receipts, as they make the bank receipts easy to explain.
Yes. Restaurant-type service covers food consumed away from the premises, so delivered tiffins stay at the same 5% rate when the mess is registered. Any delivery charge billed with the meals forms part of the same service.
Sources: GST Council — Notification 11/2017-CT(Rate), consolidated (services rates, heading 9963) · GST Council — Press release, 56th GST Council recommendations (Sept 2025)
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