Service charge illegal: UT

Taking cognisance of the orders of the Chandigarh District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in which it has been stated that “there is no statutory law under which the service charge is levied”, the Chandigarh Administration has decided to start a drive against restaurants and eating joints levying the service charge. A few days ago, the Department of Consumer Affairs had carried out a detailed inspection of eating joints across the city and submitted a report to the Director, Food, Supplies and Consumer Affairs. In a recent order against a Sector 26-based restaurant, run by Barbeque Nation Hospitality Ltd, the forum has said: “The Chandigarh Administration has recently declared the service charge illegal, meaning thereby that it cannot be levied on food served on the table.”