<p>The Indian government has asked restaurants to not include the service charge in the final bill.</p>

<p>Ram Vilas Paswan, the federal minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, said that they had issued an advisory to restaurants to levy service charge as &quot;it is not a tax, only a tip (sic)&quot;.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Have issued an advisory to restaurants to remove levying service charge since it is not a tax, only a tip: Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister <a href="https://t.co/DQZFJJMw4M">pic.twitter.com/DQZFJJMw4M</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/852812071712325632">April 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want any regulations or issue advisory nor want to bring a new law. We want hotels and restaurants to take voluntary steps to address the issue of food wastage,&rdquo; Paswan told news agency PTI.</p>

<p>Currently, several hotels, restaurants and pubs in India include service charge ranging between 5 per cent and 20 per cent.</p>

<p>The current advisory would mean that it would not be mandatory for customers to pay tips.</p>

<p>The federal government at the turn of the year had told hotels, pubs and restaurants &quot;to disseminate information through display at the appropriate place in the hotels/restaurants that the &lsquo;service charges&rdquo; are discretionary/ voluntary and a consumer dissatisfied with the services can have it waived off&quot;.</p>

<p>The Indian law states that if any trade promoting sale of goods adopts any deceptive practice, it will be treated as illegal and the consumer will have the right to approach consumer courts for redressal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION with inputs from ANI)</p>


Ram Vilas Paswan, a federal minister, has asked eating joints to avoid adding service charge on food bills as it is not a tax

The Indian government has asked restaurants to not include the service charge in the final bill. Ram Vilas Paswan, the federal minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, said that they had issued an advisory to restaurants to levy service charge as "it is not a tax, only a tip (sic)". Have issued an advisory to restaurants to remove levying service charge since it is not a tax, only a tip: Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister pic.twitter.com/DQZFJJMw4M — ANI (@ANI_news) April 14, 2017 × “We don’t want any regulations or issue advisory nor want to bring a new law. We want hotels and restaurants to take voluntary steps to address the issue of food wastage,” Paswan told news agency PTI. Currently, several hotels, restaurants and pubs in India include service charge ranging between 5 per cent and 20 per cent. The current advisory would mean that it would not be mandatory for customers to pay tips. The federal government at the turn of the year had told hotels, pubs and restaurants "to disseminate information through display at the appropriate place in the hotels/restaurants that the ‘service charges” are discretionary/ voluntary and a consumer dissatisfied with the services can have it waived off". The Indian law states that if any trade promoting sale of goods adopts any deceptive practice, it will be treated as illegal and the consumer will have the right to approach consumer courts for redressal. (WION with inputs from ANI)

Drop service charge from food bills, Indian govt tells restaurants

<p>Consumers not satisfied with their experience of eating out at a restaurant have the option of not paying service charge, the government clarified in a <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=156064">statement </a>published today.</p>

<p>In it,&nbsp;the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food &amp; Public Distribution said it had asked the Hotel Association of India to clarify&nbsp;the matter, and&nbsp;was told that the service charge &quot;is completely discretionary&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;A number of complaints from consumers have been received that hotels and restaurants are following the practice of charging &#39;service charge&#39; in the range of 5-20%, in lieu of tips, which a consumer is forced to pay irrespective of the kind of service provided to him,&quot; the ministry said.</p>

<p>&quot;In this context, the department of Consumer Affairs, Central Government has called for clarification from the Hotel Association of India, which have replied that the service charge is completely discretionary and should a customer be dissatisfied with the dining experience he/she can have it waived off. Therefore, it is deemed to be accepted voluntarily,&quot; it added.</p>

<p>The ministry also said it had advised hotels and restaurants to display the information that paying service charge was voluntary and a customer could have them waived off.</p>

<p>Consumer Affairs and Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also confirmed the news on Twitter, saying that service charge was optional and the consumer had the discretion to pay or not.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Restaruants are billing service charges in addition to taxes. Service charge is optional . Consumer has a discretion to pay or not.</p>
&mdash; Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) <a href="https://twitter.com/irvpaswan/status/815889988269182976">January 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The government said it had received complaints of consumers being forced to pay service charge irrespective of the services provided to them

Consumers not satisfied with their experience of eating out at a restaurant have the option of not paying service charge, the government clarified in a statement published today. In it, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said it had asked the Hotel Association of India to clarify the matter, and was told that the service charge "is completely discretionary". "A number of complaints from consumers have been received that hotels and restaurants are following the practice of charging 'service charge' in the range of 5-20%, in lieu of tips, which a consumer is forced to pay irrespective of the kind of service provided to him," the ministry said. "In this context, the department of Consumer Affairs, Central Government has called for clarification from the Hotel Association of India, which have replied that the service charge is completely discretionary and should a customer be dissatisfied with the dining experience he/she can have it waived off. Therefore, it is deemed to be accepted voluntarily," it added. The ministry also said it had advised hotels and restaurants to display the information that paying service charge was voluntary and a customer could have them waived off. Consumer Affairs and Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also confirmed the news on Twitter, saying that service charge was optional and the consumer had the discretion to pay or not. Restaruants are billing service charges in addition to taxes. Service charge is optional . Consumer has a discretion to pay or not. — Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) January 2, 2017 ×

Service charge at restaurants at consumer's discretion, clarifies government

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Drop service charge from food bills, Indian govt tells restaurants

Service charge at restaurants at consumer's discretion, clarifies government