Amid complaints of hotels and restaurants charging erroneously service charges, the central government on Thursday said it will come out with a framework to ensure strict adherence to the rules related to levying service charges.
During the recently concluded stakeholder meeting, consumer organizations argued that levying service charges is arbitrary and constitutes an unfair as well as restrictive trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry said, “Questioning the validity of such allegation, it is highlighted that since there is no bar on restaurants/hotels to fix the prices of their meals including additional charges in the name of service charges It is detrimental to the rights of the consumers.” , Food and Public Distribution said in a statement.
However, restaurant associations have observed that when service charges are mentioned in the menu, it involves the implied consent of the consumer to pay the fee. The service fee is used by restaurants and hotels to pay staff and workers and is not charged for experience, the unions said.
The Ministry reiterated that placing an order by a customer is tantamount to his agreement to pay the prices in the menu along with applicable taxes and charge for anything other than the above without the express consent of the consumer, unfair trade practices under the Act. Will happen. ,
“Furthermore, treating a customer’s entry into a restaurant/hotel as an implied consent to payment of service charges, as a condition of placing an order for food, would amount to imposing an unreasonable cost on the customer. and will come under the Restrictive Trade Practices Act, the ministry added.