GST or Good and Services Tax is mandatory in India. So much so, that it has become a reflex for many people to pay for groceries and restaurant bills without checking. Now, a chartered accountant (CA) has shared a simple GST check customers can do before they pay their restaurant bills.
On September 8, X user Pratik Bharda shared an incident where he was at a dhaba in Udaipur and the bill turned out to be Rs 641.90.
He pointed out that the bill contained a total GST of Rs 32.10, along with 2.5 % CGST and 2.5% SGST. However, before he paid the bill, he checked if the restaurant, which happens to be a "Composition Tax Payer" is eligible to collect GST from the customers or not.
"Before I paid, I did what I always do. Opened https://gst.gov.in. Typed in the GSTIN from the bill. Hit Search. Status: Regular Taxpayer. I paid without a second thought," he wrote.
But many customers make the mistake while eating at restaurants and dhabas and not checking whether the business is registered under the correct tax scheme before paying the bill.
"A Composition taxpayer CANNOT collect GST from you. Ever. Under the GST Composition Scheme, a dealer pays a flat tax to the government from their own pocket - 1% for traders, 6% for service providers. They cannot add GST to your invoice," he wrote in the X post.
As per the rules, restaurants and outlets cannot collect GST additionally from customers. They cannot add CGST or SGST to the bill. Keeping this in mind, the CA advised people to always the GSTIN before paying when they dine out next time.
"The moment they do, that amount is being collected from you with zero legal basis. It does not go to the government. It stays with the owner. That is not a tax. That is a collection."
For consumer awareness, he shared a simple online verification process that saves customers from paying unnecessary prices to any outlet.
How To Verify GST Before Paying Restaurant
If you want to check the authenticity of the GST on the customer bill, here's a simple, 30-second check you can perform before paying your next bill. As per the CA, open https://gst.gov.in, then search for taxpayer, enter GSTIN/PAN from your bill and see if it is Regular / Composition / Suspended / Invalid.
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He said that if a Composition taxpayer has charged GST separately, customers can question the charge and raise the matter with the GST authorities.
So, before you make the next payment at any restaurant, make sure to check if they are the rightful tax collectors as per the rules or not.