The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has given a clear warning to hotels and restaurants that if they do not add additional charges like LPG charge, gas surcharge or fuel cost recovery in the customers' bills, then the authority will term it as unfair trade practice and strict action will be taken against those who do so.
Citing the Consumer Protection Act 2019, the CCPA said that only applicable taxes can be added to the price shown in the menu. Apart from this, charging any separate or hidden charge is against the rules. The authority said that such charges mislead customers.
According to the authority, many such complaints came to light through the National Consumer Helpline and media reports, in which hotels and restaurants were asked to add this charge to the bill automatically (by default). Taking serious cognizance of this, CCPA has issued a new advisory.
CCPA believes that many institutions are charging extra money under new names like LPG or fuel charge to avoid the guidelines related to service charge. The authority clarified that such charge taken in any name is actually an additional fee and taking it by default is a violation of the rules.
The authority also said that LPG, electricity, fuel and other operational expenses are part of any business and should be included in the menu price. It is wrong to collect these expenses from customers by adding them to the bill separately.
The CCPA clarified that no hotel or restaurant can charge additional fees to customers without their consent. If found so, strict action will be taken under consumer protection law.
