More money will have to be paid for eating out: Service charge will have to be paid for eating food in restaurants and hotels, the High Court has put a stay on the old decision

If you don’t eat food in hotels or restaurants then there is bad news for you. The Delhi High Cart has lifted the ban on charging service charges to hotels and restaurants. On July 4, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) had banned the collection of service charge in restaurants through a new guideline. Subsequently, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Association of India challenged this decision in the high cart.

Justice Yashwant Verma, while hearing the petitions of NRAI and Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Association of India challenging the July 4 guidelines of CCPA, said that the issue needs to be considered. He has also asked the officials to file their reply in this matter.

The guide line for non-recovery of service charge was issued on July 4
Actually, on July 4, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) had issued a guideline. According to this, hotels and restaurants cannot add service charge to the bill. But if the customer wishes, he can voluntarily pay the service charge.

After this, the petition was filed by advocates Neena Gupta and Ananya Marwah on behalf of NRAI and others. It sought quashing of the guidelines issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for ‘preventing unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights’ with regard to the moratorium on service charges levied by hotels and restaurants.

What is service charge?
When you buy a product or service, you have to pay some money for it. This is called service charge. That is, a service charge is taken from the customer for serving food and other services in the hotel or restaurant. Customers also pay the hotel or restaurant without question and answer along with the service charge. However, this charge is levied only at the time of transaction and not at the time of availing service.

Service charge is charged at some percentage of the bill
The service charge is mentioned at the bottom of your hotel or restaurant bill. This can usually be a percentage of your bill. Mostly it is 5%. That is, if your bill is Rs 1,000, then this 5% service charge will become Rs 1,050.