As per the guidelines, “No hotel or restaurant shall add service charges to the bill automatically or by default.”
Highlight
- Hotels and restaurants may not automatically or by default charge service charges on food bills
- CCPA said that consumers can lodge complaints on violations on the National Consumer Helpline number 1915
- They can also file a complaint with the consumer commission
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Monday ruled that hotels and restaurants cannot levy service charges automatically or by default on food bills. The CCPA said that consumers can lodge a complaint on the National Consumer Helpline No. 1915 against levying service charges from hotels/restaurants.
Amid rising complaints, the CCPA has issued guidelines to prevent unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights with respect to levying service charges, news agency PTI reported.
As per the guidelines, “No hotel or restaurant shall add service charges to the bill automatically or by default.”
It states that the service fee should not be recovered by any other name.
No hotel or restaurant can compel a consumer to pay a service charge. They must clearly inform the consumer that the service charge is voluntary, optional and at the discretion of the consumer.
“No restriction shall be imposed on the consumers on the entry or provision of services on the basis of collection of service charges,” the guideline said.
Further, the service charge cannot be collected by adding it to the food bill and levying GST on the total amount.
If a consumer finds that a hotel or restaurant is levying a service charge in contravention of the guidelines, he can request the establishment concerned to remove it from the bill amount.
Consumers can also lodge complaints on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), which acts as an alternative dispute redressal mechanism, at 1915 or at the pre-litigation level through the NCH Mobile App.
They can also lodge a complaint with the Consumer Commission.
(with PTI input)