Looking for expert help with GST and income tax for tent house and shamiana owners India? 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
- A tent house job where your staff erect, decorate and run the setup is taxed at 18% GST. Bare hire of goods, with no staff, takes the GST rate of those goods (Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), S. No. 17(viia)).
- You supply services, so the GST registration limit is Rs 20 lakh, not the Rs 40 lakh limit for goods sellers.
- If last year's turnover was up to Rs 50 lakh and you work only within your State, you can pay 6% GST (Notification 2/2019-Central Tax (Rate)) with no input tax credit.
- GST is due on wedding advances in the month you receive them (Section 13(2), CGST Act).
- Never take Rs 2 lakh or more in cash for one event from a family. The penalty is 100% of the amount (Sections 269ST and 271DA).
What is the GST rate on tent house services in India? A tent house that erects the shamiana, decorates the venue and runs lights or generators with its own staff charges 18% GST (9% CGST plus 9% SGST) under the residual service entries of Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate). Hiring out goods without staff takes the rate of the goods: 18% for chairs, tables and lighting, 5% for steel utensils.
Wedding and festival season is when a tent house earns most of its year, and it's also when GST and cash rules bite. One booking can mix a shamiana, 400 chairs, stage decoration, lighting, a generator and a cooking-vessel set, all on one bill. Which rate applies depends on whether your team does the work or the customer only takes the goods. This guide walks through the rate, registration, the 6% option, advances and cash, then the income tax side for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27). If you also run a hall, see our function hall GST and income tax guide. If you plan whole events, our event managers guide fits better.
Are you hiring out goods or supplying a service?
That one question sets your rate.
Bare hire, no staff. A customer picks up 200 plastic chairs and a set of steel vessels and returns them after the function. Heading 9973 of Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) covers "leasing or rental services, without operator". Under S. No. 17(viia), leasing or renting of goods attracts the same rate as a sale of like goods. So you look up each item in the GST 2.0 goods rate list (Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), in force from 22 September 2025):
- Chairs and seats (9401): 18% (Schedule II, S. No. 610)
- Tables and other furniture (9403): 18% (Schedule II, S. No. 612)
- Lights, luminaires and fittings (9405): 18% (Schedule II, S. No. 614)
- Generating sets (8502): 18% (Schedule II, S. No. 475)
- Steel, copper and aluminium utensils (7323, 7418, 7615): 5% (Schedule I, S. Nos. 416, 417, 419)
- Tents, carpets and other made-up textile articles (Chapter 63): 5% if the sale value is up to Rs 2,500 a piece, 18% above that (Schedule I, S. No. 390; Schedule II, S. No. 199)
Your team does the work. Most tent house bookings look like this: you bring the poles and cloth, your staff put up the shamiana, dress the stage, wire the lights, run the generator and take it all down. That's no longer rental "without operator". Notification 20/2019-Central Tax (Rate) deleted the words "with or" from Heading 9973 from 1 October 2019, so rental with operator left that heading. It lands in one of the residual service entries of Notification 11/2017, such as S. No. 23(iii) (support services, Heading 9985) or S. No. 35(ii) (other services, Heading 9997). Both carry 9% CGST plus 9% SGST. GST 2.0 changes in Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate) didn't touch either rate.
Say you set up a wedding: shamiana, 300 chairs, stage decoration and lighting, with your crew, for Rs 1,50,000. GST at 18% is Rs 27,000 (Rs 13,500 CGST plus Rs 13,500 SGST), and the family pays Rs 1,77,000.
Tent plus food. If you also cook and serve the meal at the venue, and bill it with the shamiana as one composite package, Notification 11/2017, S. No. 7(v) taxes "outdoor catering together with renting of premises (including ... pandal, shamiana ...)" at 5% with no input tax credit (ITC), unless the venue is a "specified premises". Our caterers guide covers catering on its own.
Comparison
GST on Tent House Supplies (from 22 September 2025)
| What you supply | Entry | GST | Input tax credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup with your staff: erection, decoration, lights, generator | 11/2017-CT(R) residual entries, e.g. S. No. 23(iii) or 35(ii) | 18% | Yes |
| Bare hire of chairs, tables, lights, generators | 11/2017-CT(R) S. No. 17(viia) with 9/2025-CT(R) Sch II | 18% | Yes |
| Bare hire of steel or aluminium vessels | 17(viia) with 9/2025-CT(R) Sch I S. Nos. 416, 419 | 5% | Yes |
| Bare hire of textile items up to Rs 2,500 a piece | 17(viia) with 9/2025-CT(R) Sch I S. No. 390 | 5% | Yes |
| Shamiana plus outdoor catering as one package | 11/2017-CT(R) S. No. 7(v) | 5% | No |
| Any of the above under the 6% scheme | 2/2019-CT(R) | 6% of turnover | No |
Source: Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) S. Nos. 7(v), 17, 23, 35 as amended by Notifications 20/2019 and 15/2025; Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) Schedules I and II; Notification 2/2019-Central Tax (Rate)
If one booking mixes bare hire and a crewed setup, the setup usually decides the bill, because the goods only move with your team. Where you genuinely rent some items separately, bill them on a separate line at their own rate.
When does a tent house need GST registration?
At Rs 20 lakh of aggregate turnover in a financial year (Section 22(1), CGST Act), or Rs 10 lakh if you operate from a special category State that hasn't raised its limit. The higher Rs 40 lakh limit is only for suppliers "engaged exclusively in the supply of goods" (third proviso to Section 22(1)). Hiring and setup are services, so it doesn't help you.
Wedding seasons make this easy to miss. A tent house doing Rs 1,20,000 a month in the off-season and Rs 4,50,000 a month in five peak months turns over Rs 8,40,000 plus Rs 22,50,000, so Rs 30,90,000 in the year. Once you cross Rs 20 lakh, apply within 30 days. Our GST registration service handles the application.
Should you choose the 6% scheme or regular GST?
Notification 2/2019-Central Tax (Rate) lets a small service business pay 3% CGST plus 3% SGST, so 6%, instead of the normal rate. You qualify if:
- Aggregate turnover in the previous financial year was Rs 50 lakh or below.
- You aren't eligible for the regular composition scheme under Section 10(1). A business that mostly supplies services usually isn't.
- You make no inter-State outward supply. One wedding in the neighbouring State breaks this.
- You make no supply that's not leviable to GST, and nothing through an e-commerce operator that collects tax at source.
The rate applies to your first Rs 50 lakh of supplies in the year. You issue a bill of supply headed "taxable person paying tax in terms of notification No. 2/2019-Central Tax (Rate) dated 07.03.2019, not eligible to collect tax on supplies", you can't charge GST to customers and you get no ITC.
Here's how it plays out for one month. You bill families Rs 3,00,000, and your prices are fixed, so any GST comes out of that. You paid Rs 9,000 GST on new chairs, cloth and repairs.
| Regular GST (18%) | 6% scheme | |
|---|---|---|
| GST inside Rs 3,00,000 | Rs 45,763 (18/118) | Rs 18,000 (6%) |
| Input tax credit | Rs 9,000 | None |
| GST you pay the government | Rs 36,763 | Rs 18,000 |
The 6% scheme leaves you Rs 18,763 more that month. That gap holds while your customers are families who can't claim ITC anyway. If most of your work is for event companies, hotels or corporates, they'll want an 18% tax invoice they can claim credit on, and the regular scheme may win you more business.
Advances. For services, GST is due at the earlier of the invoice and the payment (Section 13(2), CGST Act). A Rs 50,000 advance received in October for a December wedding is taxable in October's return. Issue a receipt voucher when you take it. Our GST return filing service keeps advances and final bills matched across the season.
Step-by-Step Guide
GST Setup for a Tent House
Sort your bookings
Crewed setups are services at 18%. Bare hire takes the goods rate. Tent plus catering in one package may be 5% without ITC.
Track turnover against Rs 20 lakh
Count peak-season months. The Rs 40 lakh goods limit doesn't apply to hiring and setup.
Pick 6% or regular
Previous-year turnover up to Rs 50 lakh and no inter-State work: compare 6% with 18% less ITC, based on who your customers are.
Tax advances when received
Issue a receipt voucher for every booking advance and report it in that month's return.
Bill and file
Regular: tax invoice with the right rate per line, then GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. 6% scheme: bill of supply with no GST charged.
Source: Sections 13, 22 and 31, CGST Act; Notifications 2/2019, 11/2017, 20/2019 and 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate)
How is a tent house's income taxed for FY 2025-26?
Presumptive tax. Tent hire and event setup is a business, not one of the professions in Section 44AA(1). A resident individual, HUF or partnership firm (not an LLP) can declare profit under Section 44AD of the Income-tax Act 1961 if turnover is up to Rs 2 crore, or up to Rs 3 crore where cash receipts are within 5% of the total. Deemed profit is 6% of receipts by account payee cheque, bank transfer or other prescribed electronic mode, and 8% of the rest. Depreciation on your tents, chairs and generators is treated as already allowed (Section 44AD(3)). From tax year 2026-27 the same rule is Section 58(2), Table S. No. 1, of the Income-tax Act 2025. Our Section 44AD guide has the detail.
Example 1 (FY 2025-26, new regime): turnover Rs 1.1 crore, of which Rs 95 lakh came by UPI and bank transfer and Rs 15 lakh in cash.
- Deemed profit: 6% of Rs 95,00,000 (Rs 5,70,000) plus 8% of Rs 15,00,000 (Rs 1,20,000), so Rs 6,90,000.
- Tax under Section 115BAC(1A): nil up to Rs 4 lakh, then 5% of Rs 2,90,000, so Rs 14,500.
- Income is under Rs 12 lakh, so the Section 87A rebate (up to Rs 60,000) cancels it. Tax: nil, if this is the only income.
Example 2: turnover Rs 2.5 crore, with only Rs 10 lakh (4%) in cash. Because cash is within 5%, the Rs 3 crore limit applies and 44AD is still open.
- Deemed profit: 6% of Rs 2,40,00,000 (Rs 14,40,000) plus 8% of Rs 10,00,000 (Rs 80,000), so Rs 15,20,000.
- Tax: Rs 20,000 (Rs 4-8 lakh at 5%) plus Rs 40,000 (Rs 8-12 lakh at 10%) plus Rs 48,000 (Rs 3,20,000 at 15%), so Rs 1,08,000. No 87A rebate above Rs 12 lakh.
- With 4% cess (Rs 4,320), the total is Rs 1,12,320.
If the same business took 6% of its receipts in cash, the limit would drop back to Rs 2 crore and 44AD would be closed.
The five-year lock. Declare 44AD profit one year and a lower profit in any of the next five, and you lose 44AD for five years (Section 44AD(4)). During that time you must keep books and get them audited if income is above the basic exemption limit (Section 44AD(5)).
Cash and TDS: what a tent house should watch
The Rs 2 lakh cash rule. Section 269ST bars receiving Rs 2 lakh or more in cash "in respect of transactions relating to one event or occasion from a person". Splitting it doesn't help. A family that pays Rs 80,000 at booking, Rs 90,000 on the wedding day and Rs 60,000 after has paid Rs 2,30,000 for one event. The penalty under Section 271DA is equal to the amount received, here Rs 2,30,000. From 1 April 2026 the rule is Section 186 of the Income-tax Act 2025. Our cash transaction limits guide covers the other cash rules.
TDS deducted by business customers. A company, firm, or large individual business that hires you may deduct TDS. If they treat your bill as rent for equipment, Section 194-I sets 2% for machinery, plant or equipment and 10% for furniture or fittings, once rent crosses Rs 50,000 for a month (Section 393(1), Table S. No. 2(ii) of the 2025 Act from 1 April 2026). If they treat it as a contract for work, Section 194C sets 1% for an individual or HUF contractor and 2% for others. Either way, check your Form 26AS before filing and claim the full credit. Our TDS on rent guide explains 194-I in more detail.
Common mistakes tent house owners make
- Billing a crewed setup as "rental" at 5%. Once your staff erect and run it, it's a service at 18%, or 6% under the small-business scheme.
- Waiting for Rs 40 lakh before registering. That limit is for goods sellers. Yours is Rs 20 lakh.
- Using the 6% scheme after taking an out-of-State booking. Any inter-State outward supply ends your eligibility.
- Ignoring advances. GST on a booking advance is due in the month you receive it, not the month of the wedding.
- Collecting Rs 2 lakh or more in cash for one wedding. The penalty equals the whole amount, even if it came in instalments.
How Tax Garden helps tent house owners
We sort your bookings into crewed setups and bare hire, file under whichever GST scheme you have opted for (6% or regular), and register you through our GST registration service. We file monthly returns with advances matched through our GST return filing service, and prepare your return under Section 44AD or on actual profit through our ITR filing service.
