No more mandatory Service Charge can be added to the bill because in March, 2025, Delhi High Court ruled that this amounts to "๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ง" trade practice by the Restaurants and Hotels.
๐ญ) ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ท๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐?
โก๏ธ Court upheld the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) guidelines prohibiting mandatorily levying service charge.
โก๏ธ Service charge is not permissible in law as it is misleading.
โก๏ธ Court found no evidence that the charge benefited staff.
โก๏ธ Mandatory Collection is contrary to the Law.
๐ฎ) ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐จ๐ป๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ต
โก๏ธ Imposes undue burden on the consumer.
โก๏ธ When large number of items are ordered, consumers may not even notice the levy in small print.
โก๏ธ End up paying much more than what should be charged.
โก๏ธ Not given a choice, so not a binding contract.
๐ฏ) ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ผ๐น๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐
โก๏ธ Mandatory levy of service charge by the restaurant is against public interest.
โก๏ธ Such charge creates an unfair pricing structure which lacks transparency.
โก๏ธ Customer cannot be asked to pay irrespective of the fact whether he is satisfied with the service or not.
๐ฐ) ๐ ๐ถ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ก๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ
โก๏ธ Service charge is misleading as it creates confusion with government imposed taxes.
โก๏ธ Such a charge cannot be pre added to bills.
โก๏ธ Restaurants can use alternative terms such as staff contribution or staff welfare fund.
๐ฑ) ๐ข๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐
โก๏ธ Charge is not transparently made visible to consumers which affects the consumer's right to know.
โก๏ธ Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is fully empowered to issue guidelines under 2019 Act.
โก๏ธ Customers can voluntarily give a tip but it should not be added to the bill by default.
โก๏ธ Service Charge is not part of the Labour Agreements.
Itโs not just a win in court but itโs about empowering consumers and calling out silent exploitation.
As consumers, it's our responsibility also to know our rights and question the restaurant if next time they try to sneak in the service charge.ย