Looking for expert help with GST on movie tickets? The team at Tax Garden, based in Kondapur, Hyderabad, helps Indian SMEs stay compliant. End-to-end filings, notices, and deadline tracking, all in one place.
Key Takeaways
- Movie tickets priced at Rs 100 or less: 5% GST from 22 September 2025 (Notification 15/2025-CT(R)). Above Rs 100: 18%.
- Popcorn, drinks and snacks sold separately: 5% without input tax credit, taxed as restaurant service (CBIC Circular 201/13/2023-GST).
- A ticket-plus-food combo that is a composite supply takes the ticket rate.
- Rent paid to an unregistered building owner: 18% under reverse charge, paid by you (Notification 09/2024-CT(R)).
- Income tax: Section 44AD up to Rs 2 crore turnover (Rs 3 crore if cash is within 5%); audit-case ITRs for AY 2026-27 are due 21 November 2026.
What is the GST rate on movie tickets? A cinema ticket priced at Rs 100 or less attracts 5% GST (2.5% CGST plus 2.5% SGST), and a ticket priced above Rs 100 attracts 18%. The 5% rate applies from 22 September 2025 under Serial No. 34 of Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), as amended by Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate). Input tax credit stays available on both.
Most single-screen owners we speak to have one question after September 2025: which tickets went down to 5%, and what does that do to the snack counter? The answer depends on the ticket price, whether food is sold on its own or inside a combo, and who owns the building. This post covers each for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) under the Income-tax Act 1961, with the Income-tax Act 2025 sections that apply from 1 April 2026. It's written for single-screen theatre owners, small multiplex operators, touring and seasonal cinemas, and their accountants.
Which GST rate applies to each thing you sell?
Ticket GST depends on one number: the price of the admission ticket. Everything else in the hall has its own rate.
Tax Rate Chart
GST for Cinema Halls (from 22 September 2025)
Admission to a film show, ticket priced Rs 100 or less
11/2017-CT(R) S. No. 34(ii), rate cut by 15/2025-CT(R); input tax credit allowed
Admission to a film show, ticket priced above Rs 100
11/2017-CT(R) S. No. 34(iia), inserted by 27/2018-CT(R)
Food and drinks at your counter, kiosk or cafe, sold separately
Restaurant service, 11/2017-CT(R) S. No. 7(ii); no input tax credit; Circular 201/13/2023-GST
Ticket and food bundled as a composite supply
Film exhibition is the principal supply; Circular 201/13/2023-GST para 3.5
Screen advertising billed to advertisers
Heading 9983, 11/2017-CT(R) S. No. 21(ii)
Licence fee or rent from a third-party food counter
Real estate services, 11/2017-CT(R) S. No. 16(iii)
Source: CBIC Notifications 11/2017, 27/2018 and 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate); CBIC Circular 201/13/2023-GST; CT(R) list checked up to 10/2026-CT(R) (28 October 2026), none of which amends Serial No. 34 or 7(ii)
How the ticket rate got here. In July 2017, tickets up to Rs 100 were 18% and tickets above Rs 100 were 28%. From 1 January 2019, Notification 27/2018-CT(R) cut them to 12% and 18%. From 22 September 2025, Notification 15/2025-CT(R) cut the Rs 100-and-below slab to 5%. The above-Rs-100 slab stayed at 18%. Our GST 2.0 rate structure guide covers the wider September 2025 changes.
Credit is still allowed at 5%. This catches people who assume every 5% service comes without input tax credit. Notification 15/2025-CT(R) changed only the rate figure for item (ii). It did not add the "credit of input tax ... has not been taken" condition that it added for beauty services and that has always applied to restaurant service. So the GST on your film rights, projector maintenance and ticketing software stays claimable.
Example: two shows on one day. A matinee ticket is priced at Rs 90. GST is 2.5% CGST (Rs 2.25) plus 2.5% SGST (Rs 2.25), so the customer pays Rs 94.50. An evening ticket in the balcony is priced at Rs 150. GST at 18% is Rs 27, and the customer pays Rs 177. Same film, same hall, two slabs. Your ticketing system has to tag each price band to the right rate.
We haven't found a CBIC clarification on whether the Rs 100 limit is tested on the price before or after GST. If you price a ticket at Rs 100 before tax, settle this with your accountant before the next price change.
How is the snack counter taxed?
CBIC answered this in Circular 201/13/2023-GST, issued after the 50th GST Council meeting. "Eating joint" in the definition of restaurant service includes refreshment stalls, kiosks, counters and restaurants at a cinema (para 3.2). So food and drinks are taxed as restaurant service as long as they are supplied as part of a service and supplied independently of the film (para 3.4). That's 5% without input tax credit under Serial No. 7(ii) of Notification 11/2017-CT(R).
If the ticket and the food are clubbed together and the bundle passes the composite supply test, the whole bundle takes the rate for exhibition of the film (para 3.5).
What "no credit" means for you. Explanation (iv) to Notification 11/2017-CT(R) says the condition covers credit on inputs used only for the food counter. It also covers common inputs used partly for the counter, which must be reversed as if the counter were an exempt supply under Section 17(2) of the CGST Act. In practice, you don't claim credit on the popcorn machine, cups and packaging. Common costs like security, housekeeping or a shared electrician contract are split in proportion to turnover. Our Rule 42 and 43 reversal guide explains the formula.
Example: one month at a single screen.
| Item | Value (before GST) | GST rate | GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20,000 tickets at Rs 80 | Rs 16,00,000 | 5% | Rs 80,000 |
| 6,000 tickets at Rs 150 | Rs 9,00,000 | 18% | Rs 1,62,000 |
| Snack counter sales | Rs 4,00,000 | 5% (no credit) | Rs 20,000 |
| Total | Rs 29,00,000 | Rs 2,62,000 |
Say the month's common input tax credit (security agency, housekeeping, a shared annual maintenance contract) is Rs 50,000. The counter's share of turnover is Rs 4,00,000 out of Rs 29,00,000. So about Rs 6,897 of that credit (Rs 50,000 x 4/29) is reversed, and Rs 43,103 is claimed. The yearly true-up under Rule 42 may move this a little.
If a contractor runs the counter. Many owners give the canteen to an outside operator. The operator then charges the customer 5% restaurant GST on the food. What you charge the operator, rent or a licence fee, is a separate supply of real estate services at 18% (Serial No. 16(iii)), and the operator can't claim it as credit.
If you also hire out the hall for private screenings or events, our function hall owners guide covers hall hire.
Building rent, equipment credit and e-tickets
Rent on the theatre building. Many single screens run in a building owned by a family member or an outside landlord who isn't registered for GST. From 10 October 2024, Serial No. 5AB of Notification 13/2017-CT(R) (inserted by Notification 09/2024-CT(R)) makes the tenant pay GST under reverse charge on rent for any property other than a residential dwelling, when the landlord is unregistered. Notification 07/2025-CT(R) later excluded tenants in the composition scheme.
Example. You pay Rs 2,00,000 a month to an unregistered landlord. You pay 18% under reverse charge, Rs 36,000, in cash through GSTR-3B. Since the hall is used for taxable shows, you can generally claim that Rs 36,000 back as credit in the same return. Only the counter's share is reversed, as above.
Projectors, sound and seating versus the building. Section 17(5)(d) of the CGST Act blocks credit on goods and services used to construct an immovable property on your own account, other than "plant and machinery". Construction includes renovation, additions, alterations and repairs to the extent they are capitalised. The Act's definition of plant and machinery excludes land, buildings and other civil structures. So GST on rebuilding the auditorium, the balcony or the facade isn't claimable. GST on projectors, sound systems, screens and ticketing hardware, which are equipment rather than the building, is.
E-tickets and e-invoices. Rule 54(4A) of the CGST Rules (inserted by Notification 33/2019-CT) requires a registered person screening films in multiplex screens to issue electronic tickets. The e-ticket counts as a tax invoice even without the customer's details. A single screen may follow the same procedure as an option. Persons referred to in Rule 54(4A) are excluded from e-invoicing by Notification 13/2020-Central Tax.
That exclusion matters only for business-to-business bills, such as screen advertising billed to registered advertisers. If you run a single screen with aggregate turnover above Rs 5 crore (Notification 10/2023-CT), confirm whether the exclusion covers you before you skip e-invoices on those bills. From 1 January 2027, Notification 04/2026-CT also extends e-invoicing to supplies received from unregistered persons under reverse charge and to imports of services. Our e-invoicing guide explains the IRP process.
Local entertainment tax. GST didn't remove every levy on tickets. Entry 62 of the State List, as substituted by the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, lets States allow taxes on entertainments and amusements "to the extent levied and collected by a Panchayat or a Municipality or a Regional Council or a District Council". Whether one applies to your hall depends on your State's law and your local body. Check with your municipality or panchayat.
Registration, returns and the composition question
Section 22(1) of the CGST Act sets the registration limit at Rs 20 lakh of aggregate turnover, or Rs 10 lakh in special category States. Screening films is a service, so the higher Rs 40 lakh limit for goods suppliers doesn't apply. A single screen selling 300 tickets a day at Rs 80 crosses Rs 20 lakh in about three months.
Should a small screen opt for composition? Section 10(2A) lets a service provider with aggregate turnover up to Rs 50 lakh in the preceding year pay a flat tax instead. Notification 02/2019-CT(R) sets it at 3% CGST, so 6% in total. You can't collect that tax from customers, and you lose input tax credit (Section 10(4)). For a hall whose tickets sit in the 5% slab with full credit, that is usually worse, not better. Our composition scheme guide has the conditions, and our GST registration service files the application.
Step-by-Step Guide
Monthly GST Routine for a Cinema Hall
Close the box office
Export ticket sales split by price band: Rs 100 or less (5%) and above Rs 100 (18%). Keep combo sales as a separate line.
Close the counter
Take snack counter sales separately at 5%. Mark every purchase used only for the counter as no-credit.
Pay reverse charge
If your landlord is unregistered, pay 18% on the month's rent under reverse charge before you claim credit.
Reverse common credit
Reverse the snack counter's share of common credit in proportion to turnover (Rule 42).
File GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B
Report ticket and counter sales in the right rate rows. Business invoices for screen advertising go in the B2B table.
Source: Notification 11/2017-CT(R) Explanation (iv); Notification 13/2017-CT(R) S. No. 5AB; CGST Rule 42
Income tax for cinema hall owners
Section 44AD. For FY 2025-26, a resident individual, HUF or partnership firm (not an LLP) can declare 6% of turnover received by bank transfer, UPI or other prescribed digital modes, and 8% of the rest, under Section 44AD of the 1961 Act. The limit is Rs 2 crore, or Rs 3 crore where cash receipts don't exceed 5% of turnover. Box offices still take a lot of cash, so most single screens will be under the Rs 2 crore limit. From 1 April 2026 it's Section 58(2), Table Sl. No. 1 of the 2025 Act.
Example. A proprietor's single screen has FY 2025-26 turnover of Rs 1,80,00,000: Rs 1,20,00,000 by UPI and online booking, and Rs 60,00,000 in cash. Cash is a third of turnover, so the Rs 2 crore limit applies, and Rs 1.8 crore is within it. Deemed profit is 6% of Rs 1,20,00,000 (Rs 7,20,000) plus 8% of Rs 60,00,000 (Rs 4,80,000), a total of Rs 12,00,000. See our Section 44AD guide.
Tax audit. Section 44AB doesn't apply to a person who declares profit under Section 44AD(1). Otherwise accounts need an audit once turnover exceeds Rs 1 crore, or Rs 10 crore where cash receipts and cash payments each stay within 5% (Section 44AB(a) of the 1961 Act; Section 63(1) of the 2025 Act).
Block bookings in cash. A school or company that books a whole show and pays at the counter is the usual trap. You can't accept Rs 2 lakh or more in cash from one person in a day, for one transaction, or for one event or occasion, other than by account payee cheque, bank draft or bank transfer (Section 269ST of the 1961 Act; Section 186 of the 2025 Act). The penalty equals the amount received (Section 271DA; Section 451 of the 2025 Act). Our cash transaction limits guide explains the rule.
Deadline Timeline
Dates Still Open for Cinema Owners
GSTR-3B and tax payment
ITR for audit cases (AY 2026-27)
Belated return (AY 2026-27)
Source: CGST Act and Rules; Income-tax Act 1961 Sections 139(4) and 234F; CBDT Circular 07/2026
Common mistakes cinema owners make
- Charging 12% on tickets up to Rs 100. That rate ended on 21 September 2025. It's 5% now.
- Dropping input tax credit because the ticket rate is 5%. The no-credit condition belongs to the snack counter, not to tickets.
- Claiming credit on the snack counter's inputs. Restaurant service at 5% comes without credit. Reverse the counter's share of common credit too.
- Taxing a combo as two separate sales when it's sold as one bundle. A composite bundle takes the ticket rate.
- Ignoring reverse charge on the hall's rent. If the landlord is unregistered, you pay 18% on the rent.
- Claiming credit on renovating the auditorium. Capitalised building work is blocked under Section 17(5)(d). Equipment isn't.
- Taking Rs 2 lakh or more in cash for a block booking. The penalty equals the cash received.
How Tax Garden helps cinema hall owners
We map every price band in your ticketing system to the right GST rate, separate the snack counter and combos, pay reverse charge on your hall rent and work out the common credit reversal each month. We file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B through our GST return filing service, keep your books through our accounting and bookkeeping service, run staff salaries through our payroll management service and file your return through our ITR filing service. Call or WhatsApp us on 9640290977.
Related reading: Restaurant and cafe owners guide | Event managers and wedding planners guide | Ice cream parlour guide | GST registration limits
