Ina huge relief to customers, the CCPA central Consumer Protection Authority issued new guidelines on Monday July 5th in which they have barred restaurants and hotels from levying service charge automatically or by default in food bills and allowed customers to file complaints in case of violation.

This is a big relief to all the consumers at the service charge is often 10% of the entire bill and they are needed to be paid irrespective of the quality of service.

“No hotels or restaurants shall add service charge automatically or by default in the bill,” CCPA chief commissioner, Nidhi Khare, said in the guideline.

“No hotel or restaurant can force a consumer to pay a service charge. They have to clearly inform the consumer that service charge is voluntary, optional and at the consumer’s discretion,” the CCPA guidelines said.

The guidelines further adds “no restriction on entry or provision of services based on the collection of service charge shall be imposed on consumers”.

If a consumer finds that the hotel or restaurant is violating the new guidelines and levying service charge, they can also lodge a complaint on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH),by calling 1915 or through the NCH mobile app.

They can also file complaints with the Consumer Commission. The complaint can be filed electronically through the e-Daakhil (www.e-daakhil.nic.in).

The CCPA said it had observed, that hotels and restaurants were levying service charges in the bill by default without informing consumers that paying such a charge is voluntary not mandatory.