GST and compliance
GST Billing for Restaurants in India: What Your Bill Must Show
· 6 min read
Restaurant billing in India mixes tax rules, service charge and discounts on one small slip of paper. Getting the bill right protects you at filing time and builds trust with guests. This guide covers the basics; confirm rates and conditions that apply to your outlet with your chartered accountant, because they change.
What a restaurant tax invoice should show
A bill that can serve as a tax invoice carries the supplier's details and a clear breakup of the tax. Check the current rules with your accountant, but these are the items most restaurants print.
- Restaurant name and address
- GSTIN, if you are registered
- FSSAI licence number
- A unique, sequential bill number and the date
- Item names, quantities and prices
- Taxable value, CGST and SGST (or IGST where relevant) shown separately
- Service charge, if any, shown as its own line
- Total payable
CGST and SGST: why the bill splits the tax
For a sale inside one state, GST is split equally between the Centre (CGST) and the state (SGST). A 5% rate therefore appears as 2.5% CGST plus 2.5% SGST. Your POS should do this split automatically, so a cashier never has to calculate it by hand.
Tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive menu prices
Some restaurants quote menu prices with tax included, others add tax on top at billing. Either is fine as long as it is applied consistently and the bill shows the tax clearly. The important thing is that the system works backwards correctly from an inclusive price so the taxable value and tax add up.
Service charge and discounts
Service charge and discounts change the taxable value, so the order in which your POS applies them matters. Keep discounts and service charge as visible lines, and record who approved a discount so you can answer questions later.
Keep records your accountant can use
At month end your accountant needs sales, tax collected and payments by method. A POS that exports a daily tax report to CSV removes the need to re-key numbers from a paper register.
- Daily sales and tax collected
- Payments split by cash, card and UPI
- Refunds and cancellations with reasons
- An audit trail of who changed what
Run your restaurant on one system
GST billing, KOTs, inventory and reports from Rs 1,499 per month.