How to Start a Catering Business in India: Licences and Per-Plate Pricing

To start a catering business in India, you need FSSAI registration, a kitchen you're allowed to cook commercially in, a per-plate price worked out from every cost of an event (not just the ingredients), and a contract that fixes a minimum headcount and an advance. The licence is the cheap part. Pricing and the headcount clause decide whether an event makes money.

Start with the licence, because several top guides still quote the old FSSAI limit of ₹12 lakh for Basic Registration. It changed on 1 April 2026.

Key takeaways

• FSSAI Basic Registration now covers turnover up to ₹1.5 crore and costs about ₹100 a year. Above that you need a State Licence.
• Price per plate from every cost of the event: ingredients, staff, transport, fuel, equipment hire and disposables.
• Always fix a minimum guaranteed headcount. In our example, the same event earns ₹25,400 or ₹9,400 depending on that one clause.
• Take an advance large enough to buy the ingredients before the event.
• GST registration is needed above ₹20 lakh of turnover. The rate depends on where you serve, so confirm it with your CA.

The licences

FSSAI registration. Every food business needs it. Since 1 April 2026, Basic Registration covers turnover up to ₹1.5 crore, per FSSAI's reforms release, at about ₹100 a year. A State Licence applies from ₹1.5 crore to ₹50 crore. You apply on FSSAI's FoSCoS portal. Your FSSAI number has to go on any packed food you supply, and it's worth showing on your quotations too, because clients ask.

Your kitchen. You need a trade licence from your municipal body for a commercial kitchen. If you're starting from home, your housing society and municipality decide whether you can cook commercially there, a question we cover in running a food business from home. Small orders can work from home; regular events of a few hundred plates usually need a proper kitchen.

Shops and Establishments registration once you employ staff. Our licence guide covers the order to apply in.

GST. Catering is a service, so the registration threshold is ₹20 lakh of turnover a year, or ₹10 lakh in some special-category states. The rate depends on where the food is served. Under the GST rate notification as it stood in 2024, outdoor catering at a venue that isn't a "specified premises" (broadly, a hotel with rooms above ₹7,500 a night) was taxed at 5 percent without input tax credit, and catering at or by such hotels at 18 percent. GST rates were revised in September 2025, so confirm the current rate for your events with your CA before you quote.

Price per plate: cost the whole event

Most new caterers price per plate from the food alone, then lose money on staff and transport. Cost the event, then divide.

Here's a worked example with assumed numbers: a 200-plate vegetarian lunch.

That's about 30 percent of the price before your own time, kitchen rent and the events that go wrong. Replace every number with your own quotes. For the ingredient line, cost each dish with yield, because a kilo of raw vegetables doesn't give a kilo on the plate; our free food cost calculator does it per dish.

Price separate packages, say a basic and a premium menu, rather than quoting every event from scratch. It's faster, and it stops you discounting under pressure.

The clause that decides your margin: minimum headcount

Caterers buy and cook for the number they're told. If fewer guests turn up, the food is already made.

Take the same event. The client confirms 200, but only 160 come.

Same food, same staff, same day, and nearly two thirds of the margin gone because of one missing sentence in the contract. Put a minimum guaranteed headcount in every quotation, with a final-count deadline a few days before the event. Charge for the guaranteed number even if fewer come, and per extra plate if more do.

Advances and the contract

Ask for an advance that covers at least your ingredient purchase, and the balance before or on the day. Write down:

• the menu, by package and dish
• the minimum guaranteed headcount and the date the final count is due
• the per-plate price, and the price for extra plates
• what you provide (counters, staff, crockery) and what the venue provides
• the cancellation terms, and what happens to the advance

A one-page contract prevents most of the arguments that eat a caterer's profit.

Running the event

Write a checklist for every event: what leaves the kitchen, in what quantity, in which vehicle, and what comes back. Hot food needs to stay hot, and cooked food that's chilled needs cooling fast. The FSSAI catering figures are in our restaurant SOPs guide, including hot holding at 65°C or above.

After each event, compare what you cooked with what was eaten. Leftovers tell you whether your per-guest quantities are too generous, which is the quickest way to raise margin without touching the price.

Catering from a restaurant

If you already run a restaurant, catering is a natural extra line: the kitchen, staff and suppliers are already there. Plan it so it doesn't starve the dining room. Take events on your quieter days, cap the size you'll accept on a busy evening, and cost staff for the hours they're away. Our restaurant business plan shows how to add a channel to the monthly numbers without blurring its margin.

If you're starting from a home kitchen instead, the step before catering is often meal plans for regulars; see how to start a tiffin service from home.

FAQ

What licence is needed to start a catering business in India?

FSSAI registration is mandatory. Basic Registration covers turnover up to ₹1.5 crore since 1 April 2026 and costs about ₹100 a year. You also need a municipal trade licence for a commercial kitchen, Shops and Establishments registration once you hire staff, and GST registration above ₹20 lakh of turnover.

How do caterers calculate the price per plate?

Add up every cost of the event, ingredients, staff, equipment hire, disposables, transport and fuel, then divide by the number of plates. In our example, a 200-plate event costing ₹55,600 works out to ₹278 a plate, so a ₹400 price leaves about ₹122 a plate before overheads.

What is a minimum guaranteed headcount in catering?

It's the number of plates the client agrees to pay for even if fewer guests attend, fixed a few days before the event. It protects you because the food is bought and cooked in advance. Without it, 160 guests instead of 200 can cut an event's margin by about two thirds.

What is the GST rate on catering services?

It depends on where you serve. Under the rate notification as it stood in 2024, outdoor catering at venues that aren't specified-premises hotels was 5 percent without input tax credit, and catering at or by such hotels was 18 percent. Rates were revised in September 2025, so confirm the current rate with your CA.

Can I start a catering business from home?

Small orders can work from a home kitchen with FSSAI Basic Registration, if your housing society and municipality allow commercial cooking there. Regular events of a few hundred plates usually need a commercial kitchen with proper storage, equipment and space for staff.

What to do next

Pick one menu, cost a 100-plate and a 200-plate version of it line by line, and set two package prices. Write a one-page contract with a minimum headcount, an advance and a final-count deadline. Then take a small event first and compare your costs with your estimate before you take a big one.

If you also run a dining room and want orders and GST billing in one system, book a short dineomAI demo.