NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Friday adjudicated that the imposition of service charge by customers on food bills remained discretionary and establishments could not compel patrons to pay the same.
Justice Prathiba M Singh delivered the verdict whilst dismissing petitions filed by restaurant associations challenging the Central Consumer Protection Authority’s directives that barred hotels and restaurants from imposing obligatory service charges on food bills.
The establishments had sought to invalidate the regulatory guidelines, which explicitly prohibited the mandatory collection of service charges from patrons.
