New Delhi, March 29 -- In a major relief to consumers, the Delhi High Court on Friday held that service charge on food bills was voluntary and restaurants could not impose it oncustomers. The Court made it clear that the collection of such a cess was in contravention of the law and violation of consumer rights.
Dismissing two petitions of the restaurant bodies challenging the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) guidelines prohibiting hotels and restaurants from mandatorily levying service charge on food bills, Justice Prathiba M Singh said this was "misleading" and "deceptive" as it gave an impression to the consumers that they were imposed in the form of service tax or GST
The Court underscored that the society's interest is par...