A Five-star hotel filed an advance ruling before Maharashtra Authority for Advance Ruling contending that food and beverages served in a restaurant away from the hotel premises should attract 5 per cent GST instead of 18 per cent. The facts of the case were that M/s. Chalet Hotel Ltd, which runs the J. W. Marriott Hotel near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, said it was planning to launch a business of providing food-beverages for consumption at ”The Cheaters” which is located in The Orb Mall nearby. Both are owned by M/s. Chalet Hotel Ltd and these two places were inter-connected requiring no exit from the premises for access since both are provided with a common entry gate. Now the company questioned the applicability of the amended Section 7 of CGST Act, 2017, since their restaurant (The Cheaters) is located in the mall and not in the hotel premises. To this contention of the Applicant, CGST representative said that ”The Cheaters” is owned and operated in The Orb mall by M/s. Chalet Hotels Ltd., which also owns and operates the J. W. Marriott Hotel on the same plot, there is a common entry gate and both premises (arcade and hotel) are connected by a private passage and the restaurant’s services are primarily intended for the guests of the hotel.
MAAR Bench held that the mall restaurant is located in the same premises as the J. W. Marriot Hotel, owned by the same company, and accordingly, the 18 percent GST would be applicable to it as per the law.
