Team Herald
PANJIM: Customers can now file complaints with their District Collectors against hotels and restaurants that levy service charges, automatically or by default, on food bills.
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The State department of civil supplies and consumer affairs has empowered District Collectors to investigate such complaints and submit a report to the Central Authority.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under the Department of Consumer Affairs has barred hotels and restaurants from levying service charges by default on food bills. Amid rising complaints, the CCPA has issued guidelines for preventing unfair trade practices and violations of consumer rights.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has said that under Section 17 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a complaint relating to violation of consumer rights or unfair trade practices, with regards to levying of service charges, can be filed.
The consumer may lodge a complaint on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), 1915 and State Consumer Helpline No. 2236758, 1800-11-4000. The complaint can also be filed electronically through e-daakhil portal www.edaakhil.nic.in for speedy redressal.
The department said that as per CCPA guidelines, no hotel or restaurant can force a consumer to pay a service charge and shall clearly inform the consumer that the service charge is voluntary, optional and at the consumer’s discretion. Also, the service charge shall not be collected by adding it along with the food bill and levying GST on the total amount.
