Ahmedabad: A consumer commission in Ahmedabad has ruled that a disclaimer saying service charge is “at discretion” cannot justify automatically adding it to a customer’s bill. The order came on a complaint over Rs 34.5 charged as service fee on two coffees at a five-star hotel in Ahmedabad.Ahmedabad District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Rural) has directed Hyatt Ahmedabad to refund the amount along with Rs 6.2 charged as GST on the service charge, with 9% annual interest, holding that adding service charge automatically to a bill amounts to an unfair trade practice. The hotel has also been directed to pay Rs 2,000 as compensation for mental agony and Rs 2,000 towards litigation costs.The complaint was filed by Rohit Patel, who visited the hotel on Sept 11, 2025, and ordered two coffees — a cappuccino and a cold coffee — priced at Rs 345 each. The bill totalled Rs 854.9, including Rs 34.5 as service charge and GST charged on the coffees and the service charge.Patel told the commission that hotels and restaurants could not automatically impose service charge or levy GST on it. He cited the Central Consumer Protection Authority’s (CCPA) guidelines issued on July 4, 2022, and sought a refund of the disputed amount. He also demanded that the hotel deposit Rs 1 lakh with Consumer Welfare Fund for the alleged unfair trade practice.Despite being served notice, the hotel did not appear before the commission or file a reply. The matter therefore proceeded ex parte.The commission noted that the bill stated, ‘Service Charge is at Discretion’, but the charge had nevertheless been included in the amount payable. Referring to the CCPA guidelines and a March 2025 Delhi High Court judgment upholding their legality, the commission said service charge could not be added automatically or by default. It added that payment of the charge must remain entirely at the consumer’s discretion.The commission, however, rejected Patel’s demand for a Rs 1 lakh contribution to the Consumer Welfare Fund, observing that no reliable evidence had been submitted to establish how many customers had been affected or the total amount collected through the practice.
