Bengaluru: The restaurant which was imposing CSR(corporate social responsibility) levy on food items sold illegally has been ordered to pay a customer Rs 1,000 by the Karnataka State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in its recent hearing.
The complaint was filed by T Narasimha Murthy. Murthy had gone to the hotel in 2013 to have breakfast at 11am and he paid the bill of Rs 50 for two idlis. The customer found that in the menu, the cost of the idlis was Rs 24 only, but the customer was given a receipt of Rs 25 instead. When the customer asked, the cashier informed him that the hotel was collecting Re 1 from all customers towards CSR. When the customer asked the hotel staff to produce an order from the state government legitamising such a levy, their reply was not convincing.
As per a report in Bangalore Mirror, the customer said that the hotel used to collect CSR levy from its 21 outlets in and around the city. If ‘CSR levy’ of Rs 1,000 is collected, that amounts to Rs 21,000 per day. Per month, it amounts to Rs 6,30,000 and per annum Rs 75,60,000. He added that such levy was nothing but daylight robbery and lodged a complaint against the same.
The hotel in its statement said that an agrrement was signed between the hotel and Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provides midday meals, as part of its social responsibility measure and the hotel was donating Rs 1 on every dish served. The hotel also stated that the matter was widely advertised on its menu and those uncomfortable with it could eat elsewhere.
However, the court in its order said no hotel or restaurant can impose SR on its customer who are a third party and hence the customer cannot be liable for an agreement between an NGO and a hotel.
Dismissing the argument by the hotel, the court observed that deficiency in service was substantiated and it asked to pay Rs 1,000 to the complainant for charging Rs 1 extra for a plate of idlis as towards punitive damages.
