Did you know a Mumbai restaurant was recently found guilty of unfair trade practices and had to refund the service tax? Well, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission held a Mumbai restaurant guilty of unfair trade practices. The restaurant had to refund the service tax although they were partly allowed a plea. The complaint filed by a Borivali resident was against Chili’s American Grill and Bar restaurant. Read on to know the whole story.
What Was The Complaint About?
A Borivali resident identified as Frank Mullakara had visited Chili’s American Grill and Bar restaurant at Inorbit Mall in Malad, Mumbai. The customer went there on March 2, 2019, for dinner with his friend. However, their order of a bucket of beer bottles and crispy chicken for dinner was not eatable. Especially the crispy chicken. The customer informed the restaurant and once replaced, it still tasted as bad. This led Mullakara and his friends to have their food elsewhere. For the bill they had a 10% service charge levied on the basic amount of Rs 1,694.01.
According to Mullakara, the service was not up to the mark and hence there should have been no service tax charges. But the restaurant said the service tax part was in-built into their billing system, hence cannot be removed. Later he paid and left.
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The Customer Approached The Commission To Complaint Against The Mumbai Restaurant
After being wronged by the Mumbai restaurant, Mullakara approached the commission. According to him, the restaurant collected CGST and SGST on the service charge, which is, without a doubt, an unfair trade practice. But sadly, the restaurant never came forward. So the order was passed ex parte.
Following this, Mullakara referred to the notification issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in 2016. It clearly states that “payment of service charges by customers is voluntary in nature and completely discretionary, and in case you are dissatisfied with the dining experience, then s/he can have it waived off.”
Soon after, the Commission ordered the restaurant to refund Mullakara the service tax amount of Rs.169.40. Along with this, the Mumbai restaurant is also supposed to give the customer a 7% per annum interest and one-time consolidated costs of Rs 10,000 for pursuing the complaint.
Have you ever faced something like this in any restaurant? If yes, then do share your experience with us in the comment section below!
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