New Delhi, March 25 Following the global gas crisis, the central government has issued a strict advisory prohibiting hotels and restaurants from charging “LPG charges” from customers, terming it an unfair trade practice and banning it with immediate effect.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has taken serious cognizance of hotels and restaurants charging additional charges such as “LPG charges,” “gas surcharge,” and “fuel cost recovery” in consumer bills, terming this practice as an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The statement said that such charges are being levied by default to circumvent existing guidelines on service charges. The CCPA, in a new advisory issued under Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, directs that no such charges will be automatically levied and warns that violations may result in strict action.
The government stated that based on complaints received on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) and media reports, the CCPA has found that some hotels and restaurants are charging such charges by default in consumer bills, over and above the price of food and beverages and applicable taxes displayed on the menu. Such practices result in a lack of transparency and impose an unfair cost burden on consumers.
The CCPA stated that input costs such as fuel, LPG, electricity, and other operating expenses are part of the cost of running a business and should be included in the prices of menu items. Recovering such costs through separate mandatory charges is considered an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Act.
The CCPA advisory further stated that no hotel or restaurant shall charge “LPG charges,” “gas charges,” or similar charges by default or automatically in the bill, and the price displayed on the menu shall be the final price, to which only applicable taxes may be added separately.
