Including VAT rule - Restaurants

Yeah I know its not allowed...

but if they'd said ex Vat I would not have walked in.... but not stating ex VAT they're trying to scam customers and should get all the bad publicity that they possibly can.
 
stoke said:
Cool, next time I'll be prepared for battle. Thanks for the support peeps, and I won't name and shame, it's uncouth.
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But now others will be caught with the same scam. Name and shame them so others will know.
 
This is South Africa, no laws are ever followed. So dont even waste your time and effort.
 
Usually a 10%-20% tip is acceptable in restaurants. So in this particular case, i just would have treated the VAT amount as the tip and told the waiter/owner so. If they mislead you, then no tip for you.
 
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Oh, if a restaurant includes the 10% tip in the bill I deduct it and IF i feel the waiter deserved the tip, they'll get it in cash... but i go from being very lenient, to being incredibly critical of service if a restaurant does that....

The tip is my perogative, and not something the restaurant can dictate to me about.
 
VAT is Value Add Tax. So in essence the price you see you should be paying. I feel the same when purchasing you get reminded when it is inclusive or excluding VAT. Surely, we are not working on the correct principles. why bother? Believing that what is rumour becomes law. It really annoys me when some little idiot reminds us of this fact. Come now government, vendors and all lets keeps it simple.
 
stoke said:
Why is it that restaurants think that they are above the "Prices shown must include VAT unless otherwise indicated" rule?

There's a restaurant near where I live, we went there for a lekka sunday lunch, R55 each for the lunch, and then some drinks. We went there cos we saw a board advertising Sunday roast for R55.

You get the bill and lo and LO-AND-BEHOLD ... The R55 EXCLUDES VAT.
There is no mention in the menu that the prices exclude VAT either.

Suddenly R10 for a tot of Spiced Gold, which seemd kind of pricey, but manageable, becomes 11.40, which is just plain expensive.

Then, they get all bent out of shape when you query that, and they insist that this is the norm.

Am I wrong? Is it the norm with Restaurants to exclude VAT in their pricing?
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We have just eaten at Tashas at Nicole Way and they did exactly that as well. Food was good but hit us with the 15% Vat on top of the menu price. Not sure what to do at this point. PSY
 
Interesting. I’ve never personally seen a restaurant promote prices without VAT. I can’t believe that they’d be that desperate.
 
Paul Stephen Young said:
We have just eaten at Tashas at Nicole Way and they did exactly that as well. Food was good but hit us with the 15% Vat on top of the menu price. Not sure what to do at this point. PSY
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Legally, if not stated otherwise, a price is assumed to include vat. That restaurant should be reported to the relevant authorities (not sure who they are). In future, in such a situation, take it up with the restaurant at time of paying.
 
Paul Stephen Young said:
We have just eaten at Tashas at Nicole Way and they did exactly that as well. Food was good but hit us with the 15% Vat on top of the menu price. Not sure what to do at this point. PSY
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Yeah I wouldn't pay the VAT, tell them to call the cops lol. They know they're bending the rules.
 
Wasabee! said:
Yeah I wouldn't pay the VAT, tell them to call the cops lol. They know they're bending the rules.
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its underhanded for sure, but i don't think that's the right way to handle it, pay them and then vote with your wallet and tell all your friends and family and just boycott the place.
 
Paul Stephen Young said:
We have just eaten at Tashas at Nicole Way and they did exactly that as well. Food was good but hit us with the 15% Vat on top of the menu price. Not sure what to do at this point. PSY
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Any company that is registered for VAT and sells directly to the public (retail) is required by law to display prices inclusive of VAT, that is a minimum requirement, optionally VAT exclusive prices can be displayed in addition to the VAT inclusive prices. The company's VAT registration details much appear on any invoice issued (as in "the bill").

Any company that is not registered for VAT and charges VAT is committing fraud.

(If you are absolutely sure that you have your facts straight) report Tashas to SARS.
 
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Are the OP sure that wasn't just a tip added to his bill? Maybe he paid with something like Zapper which does that automatically by adding 15% tip to the amount.
 
sand_man said:
Geesus, 11 year thread necro?!!!
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It's not spam, it is a necro directly related to the thread, there's no issue here.

What surprises me is that 11 years later there are still retail companies thinking they can get away with this crap.
 
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