Hotels can't add a service charge to your bill without informing you: CCPA acts against 41 restaurants for default levy
CCPA has initiated suo motu action against 41 restaurants for automatically adding service charges to bills, calling it an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Service charges are voluntary; restaurants cannot levy them by default or without clearly informing consumers.
The action follows complaints received by the National Consumer Helpline showing invoices with automatically added service charges.
The Delhi High Court on 28 March 2025 upheld the validity of the CCPA's service charge guidelines, stating mandatory collection of service charge is contrary to law.
The CCPA guidelines (issued 4 July 2022) prohibit automatic addition of service charges or collection under any other name.
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