The Centre plans to issue an advisory to states asking them to crack down against unfair imposition of service charge on food and drink bills. <br/><br/>Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the service charge does not exist and it is being wrongly charged. <br/><br/>He said his ministry has prepared an advisory on this issue and sent it to the Prime Minister's Office for approval. <br/><br/>A senior ministry official said the levying of service charge without seeking customer consent will be considered as unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act. <br/>'<br/>Earlier too on several occasions, Mr. Paswan spoke against unfair imposition of service charge on food bill and had even sought explanation from hotels and restaurants' bodies. <br/><br/>In January, the Department of Consumer Affairs stated that service charge on food bills is not compulsory and a customer can choose to have it waived if not satisfied with experience. <br/><br/>The states were told to ensure that hotels and restaurants disseminate this information through displays in their premises.