NEW DELHI: Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has directed district collectors to ensure enforcement of guidelines issued with regard to service tax by hotels and restaurants. On receiving complaints, the district collectors may conduct an investigation pertaining to the violation and submit a report within 15 days.
In a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs, CCPA called for arranging wide publicity of the guidelines along with its immediate implementation across India. “The letter gives clear direction that levying of service charge is in violation to the guidelines and constitutes unfair trade practice wherein affecting rights of consumers as a class, and cognizance of such complaints must be taken on priority,” CCPA noted.
“A number of consumers have registered their complaint on the National Consumer Helpline with regard to levying of service charge. The major grievances include hotels/restaurants making service charges compulsory, embarrassing consumers in case they resist paying service charges, adding service charges by some other name and suppressing consumers that paying service charges is optional. Eighty-five complaints have been registered on NCH. The top 5 cities of service charge complaints are New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Ghaziabad with 18, 15, 11, 4 and 3 complaints respectively.” CCPA declared.
Nidhi Khare, Chief Commissioner CCPA, has clarified that the guidelines, issued under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, are not advisory in nature and are fully enforceable by law.
The difference between the new guidelines issued by CCPA and the previous guidelines by the Department of Consumer Affairs is that, in the intervening period, the erstwhile Consumer Protection Act was replaced with the Consumer Protection Act 2019, which came into effect in July 2020. Therefore, any violation of the guidelines will be viewed seriously and appropriate action will be taken for unfair trade practices and violating the rights of consumers, CCPA noted.