PC: dnaindia
Last week, a violent clash broke out between a family and the staff of a restaurant at Noida's popular Spectrum Mall after the family refused to pay the service charges levied on their bill, resulting in the restaurant staff manhandling the customers.
The video of the violent fight inside the mall went viral, raising a lot of questions about service charges laws in India, and whether it is mandatory to pay service charges on your restaurant and bar bills across the country.
In view of the clash inside the Uttar Pradesh Mall, the Department of Consumer Affairs under the leadership of the Central Government has issued an important notification regarding the payment of service charges on the bills of restaurants and bars.
Is it mandatory to pay service charges in restaurants?
According to a notice issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs, restaurants cannot force the customer to pay any service charge as it is called a discretionary charge, and should not be imposed compulsorily if the customer is not satisfied with the service.
This means that service charges are not mandatory on restaurant and bar bills, and can be deducted from the bill if the customer is unsatisfied with the restaurant's services and does not wish to pay.
What if you refuse to pay a service charge on your food bill?
From the legal point of view, no action can be taken against you if you choose not to pay the service charges of the restaurant. Even if it is added to the bill, you can ask the restaurant staff to deduct the charge and give you a new bill.
As per the notification issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs, there is no penalty for non-payment of service charges in restaurants and bars and customers can choose to pay at their discretion.
