Eateries can hike rates, shouldn’t charge more through deceit: Goyal

A day after the Centre said that it will soon release a “robust framework” to ensure strict compliance of its 2017 guidelines, which bars charging for service by hotels and restaurants, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal said that restaurants can not ask customers to pay hidden charges.
Addressing a press conference, Goyal said, “You [restaurants] can raise wages of your workers by raising rates. There is no bar on that. We would welcome it if they raise their employees’ wages. They are free to increase the wages of their employees and they are free to charge any rate.”
“Par chhal se chhupa hua ek rate aur wo bhi kuch charge karte hain kuchh nahin karte hai…to logon ko kaise maloom padega ki kya real price hai. (But [they cannot charge] a hidden rate by deceit, that too, some of them charge and others don’t. In this situation, how will people know what the real price is?),” Goyal said, in response to a query.
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Goyal’s remarks came a day after the Department of Consumer Affairs held a meeting with restaurant associations, in which representatives of restaurant owners’ association stood their ground on the issue of service charge and said collecting service charge is neither illegal nor in violation of law. However, the Consumer Affairs Department said that it will soon release a “robust framework” to ensure strict compliance of its 2017 guidelines, which bars charging for service by hotels and restaurants.

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