In Re Amour Bistro (CCPA Delhi)
Summary: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) took suo-moto cognizance of a grievance dated 28.05.2025 against Amour Bistro, a unit of Ambrosia Hospitality, concerning automatic levy of a 10% “Restaurant Experience Charge” on customer bills in addition to CGST and SGST. The CCPA conducted a preliminary inquiry under Sections 18(2) and 19 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and subsequently directed the Director General (Investigation) to conduct a detailed investigation. The investigation report found that the restaurant’s software automatically added a 10% charge of Rs. 89.00 to the invoice before CGST and SGST of Rs. 24.48 each, resulting in a total bill of Rs. 1,028.00, and treated the practice as involving violations of consumer rights and unfair trade practices. The restaurant stated that the charge was discretionary and later undertook to discontinue it. CCPA nevertheless found that the billing software resulted in default addition of the charge and that use of the nomenclature “Restaurant Experience Charge” did not make the levy voluntary. Relying on the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the CCPA Guidelines dated 04.07.2022 and the Delhi High Court judgment dated 28.03.2025, the CCPA directed Amour Bistro to discontinue and refrain from automatically levying service charge under any nomenclature and imposed a penalty of Rs. 20,000. A compliance report was directed to be submitted within 15 days of receipt of the order.
