Restaurants in Hyderabad: hotel GST rate split, Swiggy/Zomato s.9(5), NRI landlord TDS, catering cash limits — Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Gachibowli.

18% with ITC — not 5%. When any room category in the hotel exceeds ₹7,500 per night, all food and beverages served in that hotel (dine-in, room service, banquets, the standalone restaurant on premises) are taxed at 18% GST. You can claim ITC on kitchen equipment, raw materials, and utilities. This is the rule that has been the basis for Telangana SGST demand notices against upscale Jubilee Hills hotel-restaurants that charged 5%. If you've been charging 5%, compute the 13% difference on all restaurant turnover and assess your exposure — proactive rectification is better than a demand.

No. For restaurant services supplied through an e-commerce operator (Swiggy, Zomato), the GST liability is on the operator under section 9(5) of the CGST Act — not on you as the restaurant. Swiggy pays the GST and files its own GST returns for those orders. You receive the payout net of commission and GST. In your GSTR-1, these supplies are reported as outward supplies through e-commerce operators (not as regular taxable supply). You still file monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B — but the tax payable on aggregator orders is nil for you. Your own direct orders (if any) carry the 5% rate.

No — section 194IA applies to TDS by a buyer of immovable property (not rent). For rent paid to a non-resident landlord, section 195 applies — TDS at 30% (basic rate) or at the applicable DTAA rate if the landlord provides a Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F. Before each rent remittance to an NRI, you must also file Form 15CA (self-declaration by payer) and obtain a Chartered Accountant's certificate in Form 15CB. Deducting at 1% or 10% under s.194IA/s.194I for an NRI landlord is a TDS default — the difference becomes a demand with interest.

Yes — this is a section 269ST violation. Section 269ST prohibits receiving ₹2L or more from a single person in cash in a single day, in a single transaction, or through multiple transactions in respect of a single event. A ₹4L cash catering advance for one wedding from one client is a single transaction above ₹2L — penalty under section 271DA is 100% of the amount received, which is ₹4L. The section applies regardless of whether the income is declared in the ITR. The remedy for future transactions is to insist on payment via NEFT/UPI/cheque. For past transactions already done, the penalty is at the AO's discretion but is technically attracted.

Probably yes — if your restaurant is standalone dine-in or delivery within Telangana only. Under the composition scheme: pay 5% flat on turnover quarterly (CMP-08), no monthly GSTR-1/3B, no ITC (which is blocked anyway at 5% regular rate). The effective compliance reduction is significant. Restrictions: no inter-state supply (no catering outside Telangana), no B2B invoice with GST (so corporate clients who need a GST invoice cannot use your composition invoices for their ITC). If your turnover from Swiggy/Zomato is significant, note that the aggregator-handled supply still counts toward your ₹1.5cr ceiling even though you don't pay GST on it — monitor the aggregate carefully.