Restaurant bill format: GST, service charge and the KOT trail
Where the 5% rate applies, why service charge is not a tax, and how the kitchen order ticket keeps the bill honest.
Create a restaurant bill freeA restaurant bill has to do three things at once: settle the table quickly, match exactly what the kitchen sent out, and get the tax right. The tax part is simpler than most owners expect — standalone restaurants charge 5% without input tax credit — but the parts around it cause more customer complaints than any other bill in Indian retail.
Service charge is the flashpoint. It is not a government levy, it cannot be added automatically, and consumers are entitled to refuse it. Printing it as though it were tax is what gets restaurants named in complaints, and the fix is entirely a formatting decision.
What this format must carry
Every field below, with whether it is mandatory and what it is for.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant name, address, GSTIN | Header block. Chains should print the specific outlet address, since GSTINs are state-wise. | |
| Bill number and date with time | Consecutive series per outlet. Time on the bill helps reconcile shifts and settle disputes about which sitting a bill belongs to. | |
| Table number or order type | Dine-in table, takeaway or delivery. It affects both reconciliation and, for aggregator orders, who accounts for the tax. | |
| KOT reference | Kitchen order ticket numbers linked to the bill, so every item billed can be traced to something the kitchen actually prepared. | |
| Item name, quantity and rate | Menu name as the guest ordered it, with quantity and per-plate rate. Portion size where you sell half and full. | |
| SAC code | Restaurant service is a service supply, so the bill carries an SAC code rather than item-wise HSN codes. | |
| Sub-total before tax | Food and beverage total on which GST is computed. | |
| GST at 5% | Split as 2.5% CGST and 2.5% SGST for a standalone restaurant. Show both lines rather than a single combined figure. | |
| Service charge, if any | Entirely voluntary. It must be shown separately, clearly marked optional, and never presented as a tax or added by default. | |
| Packaging or delivery charges | Charged for takeaway and delivery, and taxed at the same rate as the food they accompany. | |
| Total with round-off and payment mode | Rounded total, plus how the guest paid — useful when the shift is closed and the drawer is counted. |
Guidance only. GST rules and rates change by notification — confirm the requirements for your business on the CBIC portal or with your CA.
Which rate applies to you
A standalone restaurant charges 5% GST on food and beverage and cannot claim input tax credit on its purchases. That trade-off is the point of the rate: it is low precisely because the credit chain is broken, so pricing has to absorb the tax on your own inputs.
Restaurants inside specified premises — broadly, hotels in the higher room-tariff bracket — charge 18% with input tax credit available. Alcohol is outside GST entirely and carries state excise and VAT, so a bar bill has to keep liquor lines separate from food lines with their own tax treatment.
Service charge is not a tax
Consumer protection guidelines are clear that a hotel or restaurant may not add a service charge automatically or by default, may not make it a condition of entry or service, and may not collect it bundled into the food bill. A guest who does not wish to pay it is entitled to have it removed.
In format terms that means one thing: keep service charge on its own line, below the food total, marked as voluntary, and never merge it into the amount on which GST is computed. A guest should be able to look at the bill and see exactly what is government tax and what is the restaurant's own charge.
KOT discipline and daily closing
The kitchen order ticket is your internal control. Every item that reaches a table should have originated from a KOT, and every KOT should end up on a bill. Where the two do not reconcile, either food is leaving the kitchen unbilled or the bill is carrying items nobody made.
Close each shift by matching bills against cash, card, UPI and aggregator settlements. For orders through delivery platforms, check who is accounting for the tax under the arrangement you have signed, because that treatment differs from your own dine-in sales. RetailDek's free invoice generator prints a clean, GST-ready restaurant bill with service charge kept separate.
Skip the template — generate it
Filling a blank Excel sheet every time is where numbering gaps and missing fields creep in. Our free tool builds this document with the fields already in the right places, and you can download it as a PDF — no sign-up, nothing leaves your browser.
Create a restaurant bill freeRestaurant Bill Format — FAQs
A standalone restaurant charges 5% — split as 2.5% CGST and 2.5% SGST — and cannot claim input tax credit. Restaurants located in specified higher-tariff hotel premises charge 18% and can claim credit on their inputs.
Make it the output, not the chore
Save your items and parties once, and every document comes out numbered, GST-correct and ready to print — with the stock and reports updating behind it.
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