Restaurants or Hotels Cannot Impose Mandatory Service Charges on Food Bills : Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court ruled that service charges are voluntary payments by consumers and cannot be made mandatory on food bills by restaurants or hotels.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh upheld the 2022 consumer protection guidelines and fined the restaurant associations ₹1 lakh for challenging them.

The court said service charges should not be added to bills by default and must be left to the customer’s choice. Restaurant groups argued there was no law against it, but the court called it unfair to consumers.

Furthermore, the court directed that no service charge could be imposed on takeaway orders.