GST on Restaurant Food in Chandigarh: Rates and Rules (2026)

GST for restaurants in Chandigarh: the basics

GST on restaurant food is governed nationally by the GST Council, so the core rates in Chandigarh are identical to the rest of India. What changes locally is your registration jurisdiction, the SGST authority that administers you, professional tax, and the state excise licence if you serve liquor.

Alcoholic liquor for human consumption is constitutionally outside GST under Article 366(12A). Liquor sold in a bar or restaurant attracts state VAT and state excise instead, and the liquor line must be billed separately from GST-taxed food on the same bill.

GST rates on restaurant food in Chandigarh

Restaurant GST depends on the type of establishment and whether input tax credit is claimed. A standalone restaurant, takeaway or cloud kitchen charges 5 percent without ITC, a rate the September 2025 GST 2.0 rationalisation left unchanged. Only a restaurant inside specified premises charges 18 percent with full ITC.

Specified premises means a hotel where any unit of accommodation was supplied above Rs 7,500 per day in the preceding financial year, or one that opted in. This definition took effect 1 April 2025 via Notification No. 05/2025-Central Tax (Rate). A restaurant in any other hotel stays at 5 percent without ITC.

The composition scheme for a Chandigarh restaurant

Under the GST composition scheme, a restaurant pays a flat 5 percent (2.5 percent CGST plus 2.5 percent SGST) on turnover, with a turnover limit of Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 75 lakh in special category states). You cannot claim ITC, cannot charge GST separately on the bill (you issue a bill of supply, not a tax invoice), cannot serve alcohol, and cannot make inter-state outward supplies.

Composition restaurants file CMP-08 quarterly, paying tax by the 18th of the month after each quarter, and one annual return GSTR-4 by 30 June, instead of monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. Per CBIC Circular 167/23/2021, food orders through Zomato or Swiggy fall outside the e-commerce bar because the platform itself pays the 5 percent GST under Section 9(5).

Who pays GST on Zomato and Swiggy orders

Since 1 January 2022, under Section 9(5) of the CGST Act, food delivery operators like Zomato and Swiggy are liable to pay the 5 percent GST in cash on restaurant services supplied through their platforms, with no ITC, whether or not the restaurant is registered. The restaurant does not pay GST on those orders and the platforms do not collect TCS on them.

Hotel restaurants in specified premises are carved out of Section 9(5): they continue to charge and pay their own 18 percent GST with ITC even on app orders, while the platform collects TCS under Section 52 and reports it in GSTR-8.

When a Chandigarh restaurant must register for GST

GST registration for restaurant service becomes mandatory once your aggregate turnover crosses Rs 20 lakh (Rs 10 lakh in special category states such as Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura), and sooner if you sell through aggregators like Zomato or Swiggy.

• Register on the GST portal and get your GSTIN
• Show your GSTIN and the correct tax split on every invoice
• File your returns on the schedule that applies to your registration type

State-specific levies for a Chandigarh restaurant

Professional tax is a state levy capped at Rs 2,500 per year under Article 276. States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh levy it, while Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana do not. Confirm whether Chandigarh levies it before you register.

Liquor licensing, VAT and excise are fully state-specific, so a bar or restaurant serving alcohol in Chandigarh deals with the state excise regime on top of GST on food. Your GST registration itself is done on the single national portal gst.gov.in; what changes state to state is the jurisdiction and SGST ward you select.

Getting GST right on every bill

Your billing software should produce GST-compliant invoices automatically, carrying your GSTIN and the right tax breakup. Once that is sorted, MRP Shop layers on top of your billing to turn those bills into WhatsApp invoices, loyalty cashback and Google reviews, so a Chandigarh restaurant does not just stay compliant, it grows. Setup takes about 15 minutes.