Service charge in restaurants not mandatory; govt issues guidelines

New Delhi: Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday said that service charge in restaurants is totally voluntary and not mandatory.

Paswan in a series of tweets said that government has approved guidelines on Service Charge.

Hotels, restaurants should not decide how much service charge is to be paid by the customer, he tweeted.

Hotels/Restaurants should not decide how much Service Charge is to be paid by the customer &it should be left to the discretion of customer. — Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) April 21, 2017

Guidelines are being sent to states for necessary action at their ends, he tweeted.

Guidelines are being sent to states for necessary action at their ends. — Ram Vilas Paswan (@irvpaswan) April 21, 2017

In January, the Department of Consumer Affairs stated that service charge on food bills is not compulsory and a customer can choose to have it waived if not satisfied with experience.

Hotels and restaurants have been asked to take voluntary measures such as training its staff to create awareness amongst customers on portion of dishes served.