No service charge for non tourist eateries

Manama : Non-tourist restaurants and cafes can no longer levy service charge from July 10, announced the Consumer Protection Directorate yesterday. This comes close on the heels of the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism’s decision to enact the rule No. 64 of 2016, which restricts the non-tourist restaurants from extracting service charge from their customers.

This decision was earlier published in the official Gazette issued on June 9. Now the service charge is chargeable only for the services provided by the tourist restaurants and cafes. Directorate has urged all non-tourist restaurants and cafes to adhere to the decision and cautioned legal proceedings for violating the law.

The decision stipulates that restaurants and coffee shops, which violate the norms, would be subjected to a fine not exceeding BD 10,000 as provided in article (20).

Non-tourist restaurants and cafes can get a licence to practice tourist service only after they get the approval from Tourism and Exhibition authorities after abiding by a set of guidelines and requirements necessitated in Decree Law No. 15 for 1986 on organising tourism.

The Tourism and Exhibition authority has classified tourist and non-tourist restaurants and cafes by placing logo in front of every restaurant and cafe.

The department has also urged the people to report any violations to the consumer protection call centre on 17007003.