Dear Mr.Sivasankaran,
As per Section 2(13-A) of the TN Catering Establishments Act,1958, "wages" means the cash equivalent of the meals and tiffin supplied to the employees free of charge also apart from the basic wages, dearness allowance etc., mentioned therein.
Moreover, G.O(2D)No.35, Labor and Employment (JI) dated 08-07-2014 of the Govt. of TamilNadu fixing minimum wages for employment in Hotels and Restaurants clearly mentions in its Note(2) as follows: " Where free food and tiffin are not supplied to the employees, the employees shall be paid, besides wages specified herein, cash equivalent of food and tiffin @ Rs.46.90 per day for the total no of days worked in the month."
Reading the provision of Sec.2(13-A) conjunctively with the above, it implies that supply of free food to employees is a statutory obligation and the absence of such practice obligates the employer to pay the food allowance as it forms part of the wages payable.
The observation of the Division Bench of the hon'ble Madras High Court in its judgment upholding the inclusion of the food allowance in the computation of gratuity in N.Sivadasan Vs. Appellate Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act,1972 [ 1997(1)LLJ Page 1155 ] also strengthens the above view point.
Coming to your question on the import of Rule 35 of the TNCE Rules,1959, I wish to correct the portion of my previous reply regarding recovery and state that "the cash equivalent" mentioned therein is for the purpose of payment in lieu of free food and for calculation of leave and terminal benefits.
My sincere thanks to you for having given me the opportunity to correct my previous reply.