Increasing number of complaints regarding service charges led to this decision by the Government. The Central Consumer Protection Authority on Monday July 4 prohibited hotels and restaurants from adding service charge by default or without consumer’s authorization to food bills and allowed customers to report violations.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority was setup in 2019 to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers.
“No collection of service charge shall be done by any other name. No hotel or restaurant shall force a consumer to pay service charge and shall clearly inform the consumer that service charge is voluntary, optional and at consumer’s discretion,said by an official of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
The guidelines also mentions that no restriction on entry or provision of services based on a collection of service charge will be imposed on consumers. The service charge will not be collected by adding it along with the food bill and levying GST on the total amount.
The Ministry stated that the consumer may also file a complaint against unfair trade practice with the Consumer Commission through e-daakhil portal www.e-daakhil.nic.in. for its speedy redressal. It said, furthermore, the consumer may submit a complaint to the District Collector of the concerned district for investigation and subsequent proceedings by the CCPA. The complaint may also be sent to the CCPA by e-mail at [email protected]. Also, the consumer may lodge a complain on the National Consumer Helpline, which works as an alternate dispute redressal mechanism at the pre-litigation level by calling 1915 or through the NCH mobile app.
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