From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The restaurants can’t levy the service charges on the consumer as it is discretion of the consumer to pay it or not, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs (CoCA)/
It has convened a meeting with the National Restuarant Association of India here on June 2 to discuss the issue, following the grievances registered by consumers on the National Consumer Helpline.
In a letter to the president of the association, DoCA secretary Rohit Kumar Singh has pointed out that the restaurants and eatereis are collecting service charge from consumer by default, even though such a charge is voluntary and at the discretaion of consumers, and not mandatory as per the law.
It has been pointed out in the letter that the consumers are forced to pay service charge, often fixed at arbitrarily high rates by restaurants. Consumers are also being falsely misled on the legality of such charges and harassed by restaurants on making a request to remove such charges from the bill amount. “Since this issue impacts consumers at large on a daily basis and has significant ramification on the rights of consumers, the department construed it necessary to examine it with closer scrutiny and detail”, the letter further adds.
Teh isues to be discussed in the June 2 meeting are:
• Restaurants making service charge compulsory
• Adding service charge in the bill in the guise of some other fee or charge.
• Suppressing from consumers that paying service charge is optional and voluntary.
• Embarrassing consumers in case they resist from paying service charge.
The department has already published guidelines dated 21.04.2017 on charging of service charge by hotels/restaurants. The guidelines note that entry of a customer in a restaurant cannot be itself be construed as a consent to pay service charge. Any restriction on entry on the consumer by way of forcing her/him to pay service charge as a condition percent to placing an order amount to ’restrictive trade practice’ under the Consumer Protection Act.
As per the guidelines, a customer is entitled to exercise his/her rights as a consumer to be heard and redressed under provisions of the Act in case of unfair/restrictive trade practices. Consumers can approach a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission / Forum of appropriate jurisdiction.
