Service charge on hotel and restaurant bills is "totally voluntary" and not mandatory, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said after the government approved guidelines on service charge.
Hotels and restaurants will not decide how much service charge will be levied but it will be at the customer's discretion, the minister said, adding that these guidelines will be sent to states for necessary action.
"The government has approved guidelines on service charge. As per the guidelines, service charge is totally voluntary and not mandatory," Paswan said in a tweet.
"Guidelines are being sent to the states for necessary action at their ends," the minister tweeted. As per the guidelines, the column of service charge in a bill will be left blank for customers to fill up before making the final payment.
If there is a mandatory levy of service charge, customers can file a complaint at the Consumer Court.Official, Consumer Affairs Ministry
Hefty fines and stringent action against violations cannot be taken at present as the current Consumer Protection Law does not empower the ministry to do so, the official said. However, the new Consumer Protection Bill under which an authority will be set up will have the powers to take action, the official added. Last week, Paswan had said that the ministry has prepared an advisory on the service charge issue and the same was sent to the PMO for approval.
"Service charge does not exist. It is being wrongly charged. We have prepared an advisory on this issue. We have sent it to the PMO for approval," Paswan had said.
A number of complaints from consumers have been received that hotels and restaurants were charging 'service charge' in the range of 5-20 percent, in lieu of tips, the ministry had said earlier.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)