According to standards set forth by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), service charges cannot be added to food bills automatically or by default by hotels or restaurants.
These are the regulations:
 No service price shall be collected under any other name.
 No hotel or restaurant may require a customer to pay a service fee and must expressly state that the fee is voluntary, optional, and up to the customer’s discretion;
 Consumers shall not be subject to any access restrictions or service supply limitations based on the collection of service charges; and it is not permitted to collect the service charge by including it in the food bill and adding GST to the total.
The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) number is also provided by the CCPA standards, which were created to avoid unfair trade practises and violations of consumers’ rights in this area.
It was recommended that customers might ask a hotel or restaurant to take the service charge off their bill if they discovered that they were charging it in contravention of the rules.
Calling 1915 or using the NCH mobile app allows customers to file complaints on the Helpline, which serves as an alternative dispute resolution process at the pre-litigation level.
Consumers can electronically file complaints against unfair business practises with the Consumer Commission at www.e-daakhil.nic.in as well as with the Consumer Commission.
The consumer may also file a complaint with the district collector of the relevant district for the CCPA to investigate and take appropriate action.
