Thin margins leave no room for a wrong rate.
Restaurants, bars and hotels run several GST rates across one bill, reconcile cash against three aggregators, and carry high-turnover payroll — while liquor sits outside GST entirely under state VAT. A generalist accountant learns this on your returns. We already know it.
The slab now follows the actual value charged per room per night — "declared tariff" no longer applies. Verified against the September 2025 rate notifications as on 03 Aug 2026.
The parts a generalist gets wrong.
Hospitality compliance isn't harder because the law is harder — it's harder because the volume is daily, the rates differ within one bill, and the cash has to tie out every night.
Sales reconciliation
- Cash, card and UPI tied to the POS day-end
- Aggregator sales matched to payouts
- Commission, platform GST and TDS separated out
- Discounts, comps and voids tracked properly
GST compliance
- Rate classification across food, beverages and rooms
- GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filed monthly
- Credit reconciliation against GSTR-2B
- ITC apportionment where rooms sit in both slabs
MVAT on liquor
- Liquor sales tracked separately from GST supplies
- Periodic MVAT returns prepared and filed
- Purchase records reconciled to sales
- Assessment and audit support
Books & cost control
- Food and beverage cost tracked against sales
- Vendor payments and ageing
- Department-wise profit and loss
- Cash flow for a seasonal business
Payroll
- High-turnover staff onboarded and exited cleanly
- Provident fund and state insurance across kitchen, service and management
- Daily wage and contract staff tracked separately
- Professional tax and salary tax deducted at source
Year-end
- Annual GST return and reconciliation
- Income tax return and tax audit where applicable
- Stock and consumables verification support
- Working papers ready for your auditor
Scope note: we handle MVAT and GST compliance. We do not undertake excise duty work or liquor licence applications and renewals — those stay with your licence consultant, and we work alongside them on the tax side.
Where each supply sits.
| Supply | Rate | Input tax credit | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room, up to ₹7,500 per night | 5% | Not available | Mandatory since 22 Sep 2025 — the earlier 12%-with-credit option is gone |
| Room, above ₹7,500 per night | 18% | Available | Slab applies per room per night on the actual value charged |
| Standalone restaurant | 5% | Not available | Cannot elect into the 18%-with-credit treatment |
| Restaurant in specified premises | 18% | Available | A declaration route to 5% without credit has been available since 1 Apr 2025 |
| Aerated drinks and mocktails served in a restaurant | 18% | Per premises status | Distinct from aerated beverages sold as goods |
| Spa, health club and beauty services | 5% | Not available | Replaced the earlier 12%-with-credit treatment |
| Liquor | Outside GST | Not applicable | Taxed under Maharashtra state VAT, with its own return cycle |
Verified against the rate notifications effective 22 September 2025, as on 03 Aug 2026. Rates and the specified-premises position should be confirmed for your property before invoicing — this table is a summary, not advice on your facts.
Six failures we see repeatedly.
One rate applied to the whole bill
Food, beverages, aerated drinks and room charges don't share a slab. A POS configured once and never revisited quietly misreports for months.
ITC claimed where it isn't available
At 5% the credit isn't there. Properties with rooms in both slabs have to apportion credit month by month, not claim it wholesale.
Payout treated as sales
The amount that hits the bank is net of commission, platform GST and tax collected. Booking the payout as revenue understates turnover — and the mismatch surfaces later.
Mixed into GST turnover
Liquor sits outside GST. Mixing it into GST returns distorts both the GST turnover and the state VAT position at once.
Day-end never actually ties
Small daily differences compound into a year-end figure nobody can explain — usually discovered during an audit rather than before it.
Casual workers assumed to be outside payroll
Daily wage and contract staff still need assessment for statutory applicability. "They're temporary" is not a compliance position.
One premium suite can change your restaurant's rate.
A property becomes "specified premises" where the actual transaction value of any unit of accommodation exceeded ₹7,500 per night in the preceding financial year. Once that applies, the restaurant inside it moves to 18% with credit — with a declaration route to 5% without credit available since 1 April 2025. It catches hotels that sell a suite at a premium a handful of nights a year and never connect that to their restaurant billing. The check is annual and the consequence runs for the whole of the next year, so it's worth doing deliberately in April rather than discovering it in a notice.
Across Maharashtra, not just Pune.
Restaurants, cafés and bakeries
From quick service to fine dining, standalone or chain, with or without delivery aggregators.
- Multi-outlet consolidation
- Aggregator reconciliation across platforms
- Central kitchen and outlet transfers
Bars, pubs and hotels
Licence holders with liquor sales under state VAT alongside GST supplies, and hotels running rooms and F&B together.
- Liquor and GST turnover kept separate
- Specified-premises position reviewed annually
- Credit apportionment for mixed-tariff properties
Four steps to a clean month.
Position review
Licence status, room tariffs, outlet mix and current rate classification checked — including whether specified premises applies to you.
POS & process setup
Rate mapping agreed against your menu and room categories, and a daily reconciliation routine that your staff can actually run.
Monthly cycle
Books closed, GST and MVAT returns filed, payroll processed, and aggregator payouts reconciled against sales.
Review
A monthly pack with department-wise profit, food and beverage cost, and anything that needs a decision before it becomes a problem.
What owners ask us.
What is MVAT and does my restaurant need to file it?
Liquor is outside GST and remains taxed under Maharashtra state VAT. If your establishment sells liquor under a licence, that turnover is reported separately under MVAT with its own return cycle — while food and services stay within GST.
Do you handle our liquor licence or excise work?
No. Our scope is MVAT and GST compliance. Licence applications, renewals and excise matters stay with your licence consultant — we work alongside them on the tax and accounting side.
We use Swiggy and Zomato. How does that affect the books?
The payout that reaches your bank is net of commission, the platform's GST and tax collected at source. Each of those has to be accounted for separately, and the platform report reconciled against your own sales monthly — otherwise reported turnover and actual turnover drift apart.
My hotel has rooms both below and above ₹7,500. What rate applies?
The slab applies per room per night on the value actually charged, so one property can legitimately bill 5% on a standard room and 18% on a suite. Where that happens, input credit has to be apportioned between the two rather than claimed in full.
We have salaried staff and daily wage workers. Can you handle both?
Yes. Salaried staff run through regular payroll, and daily wage and contract workers are tracked separately with statutory applicability assessed for each category rather than assumed.
Do you work outside Pune?
Yes — across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Kolhapur, on a remote basis with cloud accounting and WhatsApp in between.
For hospitality operators.
MVAT and PTRC Changes for Maharashtra Hospitality
What moved this year, and what it means for your returns.
FSSAI Licensing for Restaurants and Hotels
Categories, renewals and the records inspectors ask for.
ITC Mismatch Between GSTR-2B and Your Books
Where the difference comes from, and how to close it.
Everything bundled monthly sits on the retainer packages. Related services: GST returns, payroll & HR compliance, accounting & bookkeeping and tax audit.
Tell us about your establishment.
Type of outlet, licence status, room tariffs if you have rooms, and what's currently in place. We'll come back with a scope within a few hours. Prefer to talk now? WhatsApp or call us directly.
Running on thin margins?
Send us the outlet type, licence status and roughly what your monthly turnover looks like. We'll tell you what applies and what a clean monthly cycle would cover.