Restaurants collecting 'service charge' may face action

New Delhi, Apr 15: The government is all set to bring to book restaurants continuing to collect a ‘service charge’ from diners.

Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Paswan on Friday said the ‘charge’ was a tip, and no restaurant could force customers to pay it. When told about restaurants persisting with the charge in their bills, Paswan termed it an “unfair trade practice,” saying it was “not a tax but a voluntary tip.”

Officials say the law offers no provision for action against errant restaurants, and customers would have to move consumer courts. The government is now stepping in to make action possible.

“We are planning to issue an advisory to state governments.... A draft advisory has been sent to the PMO for approval,” Paswan told reporters here. He said there was no such thing as a service charge among the government’s levies, and if restaurants were collecting it, “it is wrong”.

The advisory will be useful for voluntary organisations fighting for consumer rights, he said.

A person dining at an air-conditioned restaurant pays a service tax of 14%, a Swachh Bharat cess of 0.5%, and a Krishi Kalyan cess of 0.5%, besides value added tax (VAT), which varies from state to state. Effective service tax is calculated at 5.6% of the total bill for service delivered by a restaurant.

Still coughing it up?

In January, the Department of Consumer Affairs had said ‘service charge’ was not mandatory, and a customer could have it waived if dissatisfied with the dining experience.

The Centre had told states to ensure hotels and restaurants disseminated the information, but it has largely been ignored.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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