Hyatt Ahmedabad has been ordered to pay a customer ₹4,040 after the Ahmedabad Rural District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission found that the hotel had improperly charged service fees and GST on two coffees. The commission also directed the hotel to refund ₹40.50 with 9% interest.
The case relates to a visit by Rohit Patel, a resident of Saptak Bungalows on Science City Road, to the Hyatt hotel in Vastrapur on 11 September 2025. Patel had ordered two coffees and received a bill of ₹854. The bill included ₹62 in GST and a service charge of ₹34.50.
Patel challenged the additional charges before the consumer commission, describing them as an improper commercial practice. According to the report, the commission considered the evidence submitted by the complainant along with a Delhi High Court judgment while deciding the matter.
The commission held that ₹34.50 collected as a service charge and ₹6 charged as GST on that amount, totalling ₹40.50, should be returned to the customer with 9% interest. The hotel was also directed to pay ₹2,000 as compensation for mental harassment and ₹2,000 towards legal expenses.
The total amount payable to Patel was fixed at ₹4,040, and the hotel authorities were given 30 days to make the payment. The order followed the hotel’s failure to appear before the commission despite notices, after which the proceedings were taken up ex parte.
The ruling also addressed Patel’s request for a ₹1 lakh deposit into the Consumer Welfare Fund. The commission did not grant that relief. Under Section 39(1)(k) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a consumer commission may direct such a deposit when a large number of consumers have suffered harm.
In this case, however, the commission found that there was no reliable evidence showing how many customers had previously been charged in the same manner or how many consumers had been affected. On that basis, the request for a Consumer Welfare Fund deposit was rejected.
The order highlights the importance of transparent billing in hotels and other urban hospitality establishments, where service charges and taxes are added to food and beverage bills. The commission’s directions require Hyatt Ahmedabad to refund the disputed amount with interest and pay the ordered compensation within the specified 30-day period.
