New Delhi, July 9 (MTNews):The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has directed district collectors to ensure that hotel and restaurant service tax Guidelines are followed. When the district collector receives related complaints, he or she may initiate an inquiry into a breach of the standards and submit a report to the Authority within 15 days.
The CCPA has written to the Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs and District Collectors throughout India to arrange for widespread public awareness of the recommendations as well as their urgent implementation to protect consumer interests. The letter states unequivocally that levying a service charge violates the standards and constitutes an unfair commercial practise impacting the rights of consumers as a group, and that such complaints must be addressed as soon as possible.
Several customers have complained about the imposition of service fees to the National Consumer Helpline. Between 01.04.2021 and 20.06.2022, 537 consumer complaints about service charge levying were made. The main complaints include hotels and restaurants making service charges mandatory, humiliating customers if they refuse to pay service fee, introducing service charge under different names, and hiding this fact from customers. After the CCPA released its rules on July 5, 2022 to July 8, 2022, 85 complaints were filed on NCH. With 18, 15, 11, 4, and 3 complaints each, New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, and Ghaziabad are the top 5 cities for service charge complaints.
The CCPA’s Chief Commissioner, Nidhi Khare, has made it clear that the recommendations are completely enforceable by law and are not merely advisory in nature. According to Section 18(2)(l) of the Consumer Protection Act of 2019, which gives the CCPA authority to make any necessary regulations to stop unfair business practises and safeguard consumers’ interests, the guidelines have been released.
Consumers may ask the concerned hotel or restaurant to deduct the service fee from the bill amount if they discover that the hotel or restaurant is charging customers in violation of the rules. The customer may also phone 1915 or use the NCH mobile app to file a complaint with the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), which serves as an alternative dispute resolution method prior to litigation.
The Consumer Commission will also accept complaints from consumers regarding unfair business practises. For quick and efficient remedy, the complaint may also be submitted online using the e-daakhil portal at www.edaakhil.nic.in. Additionally, the consumer has the option of filing a complaint with the district collector of the concerned district for the CCPA to investigate and take appropriate action. The CCPA can also receive complaints through email at com-ccpa@nic.in.
The former Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was replaced by the Consumer Protection Act 2019, which went into effect in July 2020, making a distinction between the new instructions released by the CCPA and the prior guidelines by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The Central Consumer Protection Authority, a newly constituted statutory entity, was given the authority by the Parliament to investigate unfair business practises. As a result, any infringement of the rules will be regarded severely, and legal action will be taken against those who engage in unfair business practises or violate customers’ rights.