NEW DELHI: Restaurants associations are advising their members across India to sensitise customers about service charges after the Department of Consumer Affairs said the payment was not mandatory.Service charges billed by restaurants are optional and it is up to the customers to pay it, the department said on Monday. The department cited complaints that hotels and restaurants are levying an additional 5 to 20% in bills in lieu of tips, regardless of the kind of service provided.The department asked state governments to sensitise hotels and restaurants and advise them to display at appropriate places on their premises that service charges are discretionary/voluntary and can be waived if a consumer is dissatisfied with the services. The department said arbitrary levy of this sum in lieu of tips amounts to an unfair trade practice.While welcoming the move to sensitise the customers on the charges, industry officials objected to making them discretionary. The department of consumer affairs received a number of complaints on the national consumer helplines regarding this arbitrary service charges by hotels and restaurants, in light of which the department took this decision.“We have been receiving several complaints from consumers that they have to pay service charges even when they are not satisfied, so the government has issued an advisory that hotels or restaurants must give a choice to consumers whether they want to pay that money or not,” said Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande. “The consumer is emboldened with this move. It is completely on the discretion of the consumer to pay the service charge or not,’’ Pande added.“We are issuing advisories to our members and customers should be made aware of service charges. But a restaurant is well within its rights to charge whatever it chooses for its goods and services. I don’t think the waiving off bit is fair,” said Riyaz Amlani, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).“Service charge is vital for the business model and for the employees. If you just give out tips, the service staff, the toilet cleaners, valet, kitchen helpers, dish washers don’t benefit. In a uniform service charge, everyone benefits.”The department said it had sought aclarification from the Hotel Association of India , which said in its response that “the service charge is completely discretionary and should a customer be dissatisfied with the dining experience he/she can have it waived off. Therefore, it is deemed to be accepted voluntarily.”The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India will examine the legal points of view and will send a suitable representation to the department, said Pradeep Shetty, chairman of the legal matters sub-committee.“The statements talk about some clarification sought from the Hotel Association of India on the matter. We are the apex body and we deny issuing any such clarification. The notification itself is contradictory,” said Shetty.According to Shetty, customers can be made aware of the service charges, which can be displayed prominently on boards and on menu cards at restaurants, and they can choose to patronise a place or not.“Courts have previously upheld the rights of a restaurant to levy a service charge. If service charge is made discretionary, it can also become arbitrary and can lead to unwanted quarrels and disputes.Anyone can then eat and refuse to pay for service and can dispute the quality even after enjoying the hospitality,” Shetty said.Restaurateur Saurabh Khanijo said service charges should be mandatory in a country like India.