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For most Indian food-delivery invoices, calculate GST separately on the restaurant-service value and the local-delivery value. Restaurant service supplied outside specified premises is listed at 5% GST (2.5% CGST plus 2.5% SGST, subject to the supplier’s no-input-tax-credit condition), while local delivery is listed at 18%. Add the two tax amounts; do not apply 18% to the entire checkout total merely because delivery is included. The services changes took effect on 22 September 2025.
The rates you should use
The rate change did not turn every food-delivery order into an 18% restaurant transaction. The invoice must be separated into the services actually listed. The restaurant prepares and supplies the food; a delivery provider may separately supply local delivery.
| Invoice component | Rate in the stated situation | Tax split or liability detail | Effective date or condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant service outside specified premises | 5% total | 2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST when the applicable intra-State treatment is shown; the rate is subject to the supplier not taking input tax credit on goods and services used to provide the service | Apply the conditions attached to the GST rate entry |
| Local delivery service | 18% | The invoice may show the delivery supplier’s tax or an e-commerce operator’s tax liability, depending on the supplier’s registration status and the section 9(5) rule | The services changes took effect on 22 September 2025 |
| Packaging, platform, convenience, surge, or other lines | Not one universal rate established for every description | Classify each line from the invoice and the applicable tax rule; do not assume it is restaurant service or local delivery | Treatment depends on characterization and invoice presentation |
The 5% figure is the total restaurant-service GST in the stated outside-specified-premises category. The 18% figure is for local delivery. A delivery order can therefore contain two different taxable values and two different rates.
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Calculate a normal order in five steps
1. Open the tax invoice, not just the checkout summary
Use the final tax invoice issued for the transaction. Look for separate descriptions such as restaurant service, food value, delivery, local delivery fee, packaging, platform fee, or other charges. You need the taxable value for each component, not merely the amount paid by card, wallet, or cash.
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A payment receipt may show one combined total while the invoice contains the tax break-up. If the app displays only a consumer-facing order summary, download the invoice or request the detailed break-up before doing the calculation.
2. Find the restaurant-service taxable value
Locate the amount identified as restaurant service or the restaurant’s taxable food-service value. If that value is ₹400 and the applicable category is restaurant service outside specified premises at 5%, calculate:
₹400 × 5% = ₹20 restaurant GST
For an intra-State invoice that presents the usual split, the ₹20 total is ₹10 CGST and ₹10 SGST. Use the split actually printed on the invoice if it differs in form; the 5% total is the important rate in this category.
3. Find the local-delivery taxable value
Separately identify the taxable value for local delivery. If the invoice lists ₹40 for local delivery, calculate:
₹40 × 18% = ₹7.20 delivery GST
Do not multiply ₹440, ₹400, or the entire checkout total by 18% simply because the order was delivered. The 18% calculation applies to the local-delivery taxable value when that service is separately supplied and listed.
4. Calculate every other taxable line according to its own treatment
Packaging, convenience, platform, small-order, surge, or similar charges may appear as separate lines. The official materials establish the restaurant and local-delivery rates described above, but they do not create one universal rate for every additional app charge. Keep each line separate until its description and applicable rule are clear.
5. Add the component taxes
Using the example values, total GST is:
₹20 restaurant GST + ₹7.20 delivery GST = ₹27.20 total GST
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This is an arithmetic illustration based on ₹400 and ₹40 taxable values before GST. It excludes any other charge and assumes both values are taxable amounts before GST.
Worked examples
Example 1: Separate taxable values shown before GST
| Component | Taxable value | Rate | GST calculation | GST amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant service | ₹400 | 5% | ₹400 × 0.05 | ₹20 |
| Local delivery | ₹40 | 18% | ₹40 × 0.18 | ₹7.20 |
| Total | ₹440 taxable value | Component rates retained | ₹20 + ₹7.20 | ₹27.20 |
The combined effective percentage on the ₹440 pre-tax base is not itself a rate to apply to another order. It is only the result of adding two differently taxed services.
Example 2: An amount is explicitly GST-inclusive
Sometimes a line is stated as “including GST.” First determine which service the inclusive amount represents. Then extract the embedded tax instead of multiplying the inclusive amount by the rate.
- For a 5% inclusive restaurant-service amount:
inclusive amount × 5 ÷ 105. - For an 18% inclusive delivery amount:
inclusive amount × 18 ÷ 118.
For example, if the invoice identifies ₹105 as a 5% GST-inclusive restaurant-service amount, embedded GST is ₹105 × 5 ÷ 105 = ₹5, leaving ₹100 as the taxable value. If it identifies ₹118 as an 18% GST-inclusive delivery amount, embedded GST is ₹118 × 18 ÷ 118 = ₹18, leaving ₹100 as the taxable value.
Do not use either formula on a mixed checkout total. A total containing food, delivery, and other charges cannot be reverse-calculated correctly until the invoice assigns amounts to the individual components.
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Example 3: A combined headline price with no tax break-up
Suppose the order page says “₹440 including delivery” but does not identify how much is restaurant service, how much is delivery, or whether the amount includes GST. There is no reliable way to calculate the exact tax from ₹440 alone. Ask for the itemized tax invoice or use the platform’s invoice download. Guessing 5% or 18% on the whole amount can produce the wrong result.
Example 4: Additional charges are present
Assume an invoice contains ₹400 restaurant service, ₹40 delivery, ₹10 packaging, and ₹15 platform fee. The restaurant and delivery portions can be calculated as ₹20 and ₹7.20 under the stated categories. The ₹10 and ₹15 lines must remain separate until their tax classification is established by the invoice and applicable rule. Adding them to the restaurant base merely because they appear on the same screen is not a valid tax method.
What changed on 22 September 2025
The GST Council’s September 2025 services schedule made the relevant service-rate changes effective from 22 September 2025. The practical change for a food-delivery customer is the need to distinguish local delivery from restaurant service when both appear as taxable components.
The change is not a blanket instruction to charge 18% on all restaurant food sent to a customer. The CBIC rate table continues to list restaurant service other than at specified premises at 5% total, subject to the condition that the supplier does not take input tax credit on goods and services used to provide that service.
The GST Council materials also address specified premises for restaurant services. An order being delivered does not, by itself, establish that the restaurant falls into a different specified-premises category. If the invoice or supplier’s facts indicate a specified-premises issue, check the applicable rate entry rather than inferring the answer from the delivery method.
Who is responsible for paying the delivery GST?
Unregistered delivery supplier using an e-commerce operator
The September 2025 Ministry of Finance FAQ explains a section 9(5) situation in which local-delivery services are supplied through an e-commerce operator by a person who is not liable for GST registration. In that case, the e-commerce operator is liable to pay the GST on the local-delivery service.
This allocation changes who remits the tax to the government; it does not make the customer responsible for filing the operator’s return. The customer should still use the delivery taxable value and the 18% rate shown or established for the service.
Registered local-delivery supplier using an operator
Where a registered person supplies the local-delivery service through an e-commerce operator, the registered supplier pays the tax in the situation described by the FAQ. The invoice and supplier arrangement determine how the liability is displayed.
Why the distinction matters to a customer
The supplier-liability rule explains why two delivery invoices can identify different issuers or tax details even when the customer orders through an app. It does not authorize a customer to replace an itemized invoice with a guessed rate. For a precise calculation, retain the invoice and identify the service line, taxable value, and stated tax treatment.
How to read common invoice lines
Restaurant or food-service line
Use 5% only when the line and the supplier’s category fit restaurant service outside specified premises and the no-input-tax-credit condition applies. The 5% rate is not a shortcut for every amount associated with a meal.
Delivery or local-delivery line
Use 18% for the separately identified local-delivery service described in the post-change materials. Check whether the line is a service supplied by the restaurant, a delivery partner, or an operator arrangement covered by section 9(5); that determines the liable party, not a different customer-side arithmetic formula.
Packaging charge
A packaging description does not, by itself, prove that the amount is restaurant service or local delivery. Leave it as a separate line and follow the invoice’s tax classification or obtain clarification.
Platform, convenience, or small-order fee
These descriptions can represent different supplies. The materials establishing 5% restaurant service and 18% local delivery do not establish one universal rate for every platform or convenience fee. Do not fold such charges into either base without a stated classification.
Discounts, coupons, and credits
Apply only the taxable values and adjustments shown on the tax invoice. A promotional label on the order page does not, by itself, tell you whether a discount reduces a particular taxable value or is accounted for elsewhere. Use the final invoice rather than reconstructing the base from the amount charged after a coupon.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common calculation mistakes
- Applying 18% to the full order: This overstates tax when the invoice separately identifies restaurant service at 5% and delivery at 18%.
- Applying 5% to delivery: Local delivery is listed at 18%, so a 5% calculation on the delivery line is wrong.
- Using the amount paid instead of taxable value: Payment totals may include GST, discounts, or charges with different treatment.
- Reverse-calculating a mixed total: The 5/105 and 18/118 formulas work only after the inclusive amount is assigned to one component.
- Assuming every fee is restaurant service: Packaging and platform lines require their own classification.
- Ignoring the no-input-tax-credit condition: The 5% restaurant entry carries that condition; it is not an optional footnote.
- Confusing remittance responsibility with the customer’s rate: Section 9(5) can shift who pays the government, but the invoice still needs the correct service value and rate.
- Rounding each line too early: Calculate at the invoice’s displayed precision and follow the tax amounts shown. Premature rounding can create a small difference from the issued invoice.
What to do when the invoice does not match your calculation
- Confirm that you are using the final tax invoice and not an order confirmation or payment receipt.
- Check whether each amount is taxable value before GST or an amount inclusive of GST.
- Match every tax amount to its service description: restaurant, delivery, packaging, platform, or another line.
- Verify that the restaurant line is actually in the 5% outside-specified-premises category and that its no-input-tax-credit condition is relevant.
- Verify that the delivery line is local delivery and has been treated at 18% where that category applies.
- Check whether the invoice identifies an e-commerce operator or supplier as liable under the section 9(5) arrangement.
- Ask the platform or restaurant for a corrected itemized invoice when taxable values, rates, or tax amounts are missing or contradictory.
- For an unusual or disputed transaction, consult the operative notification or other legal instrument. The GST Council describes its press release as a summary of recommendations; notifications and law amendments give those recommendations legal effect.
A practical checklist before you pay or reconcile an order
- Download the tax invoice.
- Mark the restaurant-service taxable value.
- Mark the local-delivery taxable value.
- Apply 5% only to the qualifying restaurant-service line.
- Apply 18% to the qualifying local-delivery line.
- Keep packaging, platform, and other fees separate until classified.
- Use the inclusive-tax formulas only for a single identified inclusive component.
- Add the component tax amounts, then compare the result with the invoice total.
- Record whether the invoice shows CGST and SGST separately or another applicable tax presentation.
- Retain the invoice if you need to question the platform, restaurant, or tax treatment.
The shortest reliable formula
When the invoice provides pre-GST taxable values, use:
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The formula is valid only when the restaurant and delivery values belong to the stated categories and the other lines have been treated according to their own rules. It is not a license to estimate tax from a single bundled checkout number.
Bottom line for a food-delivery customer
Start with the invoice’s component taxable values. Charge or verify 5% on qualifying restaurant service outside specified premises and 18% on separately identified local delivery, then add the resulting amounts. The 22 September 2025 change concerns the service-rate and liability treatment; it does not make 18% the automatic rate for the entire restaurant order. When values or classifications are missing, obtain the itemized invoice and check the operative legal notification instead of guessing.
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