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Save 13% On Your Wedding Hall Bookings With This Little-Known GST Trick
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Couples on a tight budget can save more by cutting food costs, opt for popular dishes and a smaller menu to significantly reduce wedding expenses
When booking separately, a GST of 18% is applied to the hall, and 5% to catering. (AI Generated/News18 Hindi)
As wedding season approaches, many couples are faced with the daunting task of managing wedding expenses, which begin to pile up once the invitations are printed. Major costs include attire, jewellery, decorations, entertainment, photography, catering, gifts, and the venue, with the latter often being the most significant expense.
Booking a banquet hall or resort for a single evening can range between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. During peak seasons, venue owners often hike their prices, making it seem like renting a palace.
However, there are ways to save on these costs. Instagram finance influencer Binge Wealth reveals that one can save up to 13% on hall bookings by opting for a combined service from the same vendor. When booking the hall and catering separately, a GST of 18% is applied to the hall, and 5% to catering. Yet, booking both services together counts as a ‘composite supply’, incurring only a 5% GST on the entire package.
To illustrate, consider a banquet hall with a base rent of Rs 5 lakh. Separate bookings would entail a GST of Rs 90,000 for the hall (18% of Rs 5,00,000) and Rs 10,000 for catering (5% of Rs 2,00,000), totalling Rs 1,00,000.
By booking both from one vendor, the composite supply GST on the combined amount of Rs 7 lakh (Rs 5 lakh for the hall and Rs 2 lakh for catering) would be Rs 35,000, resulting in direct savings of Rs 65,000. This translates to savings of around 13% (Rs 55,000) on a Rs 5 lakh hall and over Rs 1 lakh on a Rs 10 lakh hall.
Siddharth Maurya, founder and managing director of Vibhavangal Anukoolkara Private Limited, emphasises that the biggest savings in a wedding budget often come from tax structure optimisation.
Couples frequently overlook this aspect, but booking the hall and catering together can slash costs by 10-13%. For a typical wedding, this simple strategy can save thousands, if not lakhs, without additional effort.
For those desiring a grand celebration on a tight budget, further savings can be made by reducing the cost of food plates and selecting only the most popular dishes. Limiting the menu to fewer items can significantly cut costs, as a broader selection usually means higher expenses. Additionally, modest adjustments to hall decorations can prevent overspending on decor.
November 20, 2025, 18:57 IST
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