Hotels and restaurants can't levy service charge by default, says CCPA

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Monday barred hotels and restaurants from levying service charge by default in food bills, and allowed customers to file complaints in case of a violation of the norms. There should not be any collection of service charge by any other name, it added.

The hotels have to clearly inform the consumer that paying the service charge is at the consumer’s discretion, the CCPA said.

The guidelines empower consumers to complain against the practice under various provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, tagging it as an ‘unfair trade practice,’ and a violation of consumer