NEW DELHI: Defending the restaurants’ right to levy service charges as legal and optional, the Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Association of India said on Friday it will participate in the discussions on the subject called by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) on June 2.
The DoCA discussion follows complaints by customers on the National Consumer Helpline that restaurants impose a compulsory levy of 5-15% even though service charges are different from tax and are in the nature of a tip collected by the restaurant.
