Service Charge Cannot be Added by Default by Hotels, Restaurants; CCPA Issues Guidelines

The Central Consumer Protection Authority, or CCPA, has on Monday issued an order barring hotels and restaurants from adding service charge automatically or by default in the food bill. The top consumer authority on the day issued guidelines for preventing unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights with regard to levying of service charge in hotels and restaurants. “The Central Consumer Protection Authority has issued guidelines for preventing unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights with regard to levying of service charge in hotels and restaurants,” the consumers affairs ministry said in a statement on Monday. In the meeting, consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh reportedly said that even as restaurant associations claim the practice is legal, the the consumers affairs department thinks that levying service charge adversely affects the rights of the consumers and it is an “unfair trade practice”.