Rules: From now on, hotels and restaurants cannot take extra money in the name of service charge, customers can complain by doing so

Whenever you go to eat in a restaurant or hotel and whenever you pay the bill, you will see about an extra charge in the bill. Hotel or restaurant used to collect money from you in the name of service charge or service charge, but from now on it will not be possible. In fact, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued guidelines to prevent unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights in respect of hotels and restaurants that charge service charges. The guideline states that hotels and restaurants cannot collect service charges from customers and if they do so, customers can lodge complaints against them on the National Consumer Helpline.

Let us tell you that for some time there was a constant debate on the service charge charged by hotels and restaurants. Amidst increasing complaints, CCPA has issued a guideline banning service charge. According to the guidelines issued by the CCPA, hotels will not be able to add service charge on their behalf to the hotel or restaurant food bill nor will the service charge be recovered by any other name. No restriction shall be imposed on entry or provision of service in the Hotel or Restaurant on the basis of collection of Service Charge. The service charge will be clubbed with the food bill and then GST will not be levied on the total amount.

If a customer finds that a hotel or restaurant is levying a service charge in violation of the guidelines, he can request the restaurant to remove it from the bill amount. Consumers can also register complaints on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) if they wish. For this you have to call 1915. Along with this, you can also file a complaint with the Consumer Commission.