Feb 24, ’15 excise & taxation order allowing service charge, supersedes the Oct 31, ’14 order by the UT’s administration.
Chandigarh’s state consumer dispute redressal commission has set aside an order passed by the district consumer forum, which had directed Nando’s Sukhmani Enterprises in Elante Mall to pay INR 12,137/- to a Mohali resident for levying a service charge of INR 137/-.
After the order was passed by the district forum, Nando’s had approached the state commission “feeling aggrieved”. Nando’s Sukhmani Enterprises’ counsel pleaded before the commission that “the impugned order is based on surmises and conjectures and not on evidence on record.”
“Service charges are charged by the enterprise for providing basic services which are not part of the value of the food ordered and served to a customer,” he said.
He submitted that the transaction in question took place on October 27, 2014, whereas the district forum erroneously allowed the complaint by relying upon a UT administration order dated October 31, 2014, by which restaurants and hotels in Chandigarh were instructed not to levy any service charges, whereas the memo dated October 31, 2014, stood superseded as was evident from the excise and taxation commissioner’s order dated February 24, 2015.
The counsel also relied upon judgments of the Delhi high court and Supreme Court and submitted that the order of the district forum was “illegal” and deserves to be set aside.
Customer Gurinder Singh’s counsel submitted that the district forum rightly allowed the complaint. He said the appellant could not levy service charges, and, therefore, the order of the district forum, being based on correct appreciation of evidence, be upheld.
When the restaurant was entitled to levy service charges, there was no question of awarding compensation, on account of alleged deficiency of service and cost of litigation.
The state commission, after hearing the case, said that in view of the contents of the document dated February 24 and the law settled by the Delhi high court, restaurants and eateries could levy service charges from consumers. The state commission held that the district forum “fell in to a grave error in allowing the complaint of Gurinder Singh and wrongly directed Nando’s to refund the amount of INR 137/- charged from him as service charges. When the restaurant was entitled to levy service charges, there was no question of awarding compensation, on account of alleged deficiency of service and cost of litigation in the sum of INR 7,000/- and INR 5,000/- respectively.”
