Restaurants can’t levy mandatory service charge on food bills: DHC

The Delhi High Court (‘DHC’), upholding the 2022 Guidelines issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (‘CCPA’), held that hotels and restaurants cannot automatically add a service charge to food bills. The DHC imposed ₹1 lakh fine on the restaurant associations challenging the guidelines. The guidelines require that service charges be voluntary, not added automatically, and must be clearly communicated to consumers.