The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) acted against 27 restaurants in January 2026 and against 41 restaurants in July, about four years after it barred the automatic addition of service charge in restaurants. Many diners are still finding the charge printed on their bills when the food order is complete.
The CCPA guidelines dated 4 July 2022 do not allow hotels and restaurants to add service charge to the food bill automatically or by default. Same guidelines prohibit collecting the amount under any other name, so a fee renamed as something else is also barred.
A restaurant is required to inform the diners that service charge is optional and left to their discretion and it cannot force them to pay it. As per the CCPA's stated restrictions, a diner who refuses to pay the charge cannot be denied entry or service, as reported by The Indian Eye on 21 July 2026.
What the court and the complaint route say
The Delhi High Court upheld the CCPA guidelines and held that service charge collected in a mandatory or coercive manner is contrary to the interest of consumers and violates their rights. The Delhi High Court gave the ruling on 28 March 2025.
The restaurant associations had argued that service charge forms part of the labour settlements with the staff. The High Court rejected this argument, as per the Business Standard report of 28 March 2025.
For a diner who finds the charge added to the bill, the first step available is to ask the restaurant to remove it before any complaint is filed.
Violations can be reported to the National Consumer Helpline on 1915.
