Government cautions restaurants against forcibly charging consumers 'service charges', meeting to be held on June 2

Service Charge: The Department of Consumer Affairs on Monday cautioned restaurants against forcibly charging consumers "service charges". The government said that it is the discretion of the consumer whether they want to pay service tax or not. Regarding this, the government has called a big meeting on June 2, 2022. Zee Business Ambrish Pandey report.

According to the government, if a service charge is asked from the customer along with the food and drink bill in any restaurant across the country, then it is at the discretion of the customer whether he/she should pay the service charge or not. If the restaurant owner takes a service charge without the consent of the customer, then it is illegal.

Citing a government statement, Pandey said the customer is not bound to pay the service charge. They can clearly refuse to pay the service charge in the restaurant. The government has called a big meeting on June 2. Organizations related to hotels and restaurants will be involved in this meeting. Apart from this, providers like Zomato, Swiggy, Delhivery, Zepto, Ola, and Uber have also been called to the meeting.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs had also issued guidelines that service charge is not mandatory in the food bill. These guidelines were issued on April 21, 2017.