India, March 25 -- Terms the practice an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has taken serious note of hotels and restaurants levying additional charges such as LPG charges, gas surcharge and fuel cost recovery in consumer bills, terming the practice an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Observing that such charges are being imposed by default to circumvent existing guidelines on service charges, the authority has issued a fresh advisory under section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 directing that no such charges shall be levied automatically, and warned that violations may invite strict action.

The CCPA has observed, based on g...