Restaurants cannot add 'LPG surcharge' to bill, will face action: CCPA

The consumer protection body on Wednesday said such levies cannot be added automatically, calling them unfair trade practices, and warned that violations would invite strict action under the law

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Wednesday directed hotels and restaurants to stop adding charges such as “LPG charges” and “fuel cost recovery” to customer bills, terming the practice an unfair trade under the law.

 

In an advisory issued under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the authority said such levies cannot be added automatically and warned that violations would invite strict action. It clarified that only applicable taxes can be charged over and above the price listed on the menu.

 

“No hotel or restaurant shall levy ‘LPG charges’, ‘gas charges’, or similar charges by default or automatically in the bill,” it said.

   

The move came after the regulator took note of complaints and media reports indicating that several establishments were adding these charges by default.

 

The authority said these levies were being used as a workaround to sidestep existing guidelines on service charges by adopting different names.

 

“The present practice of levying ‘LPG charges’ or similar charges is an attempt to circumvent the aforesaid guidelines by adopting a different nomenclature,” the advisory noted.

Business costs must be built into menu pricing

The CCPA clarified that operational expenses, including fuel, LPG and electricity, are part of running a business and should be factored into menu prices, rather than recovered through separate charges.

 

It said imposing such costs as mandatory add-ons amounts to an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Act. It added that menu prices should represent the final payable amount, excluding only applicable taxes, and consumers must not be compelled to pay any non-voluntary charge.

 

“Consumers shall not be misled or compelled to pay any additional charge that is not voluntary in nature,” the authority said.

 

The advisory warned that such charges, regardless of nomenclature, would be treated as service charges or additional fees. Their automatic imposition would violate the CCPA’s July 2022 guidelines and could invite action under the Consumer Protection Act.

LPG crisis pushes price hikes across sectors

Meanwhile, rising fuel and energy costs have triggered price increases across sectors.

 

Food delivery platforms have raised customer charges, with Swiggy increasing its per-order fee to ₹17.58 (including GST) and Zomato raising its base fee to ₹14.90 (excluding GST), which also totals ₹17.58 after taxes.

 

Similarly, airlines have passed on higher fuel costs. With aviation turbine fuel accounting for 35–45 per cent of expenses, Indian carriers have had to introduce surcharges for both domestic and international passengers. IndiGo has said it will levy ₹425–₹2,300 depending on the route, Air India added ₹399 on domestic and SAARC sectors and up to $200 (around ₹16,600) on long-haul routes, while Akasa Air imposed ₹199–₹1,300 per sector.

 

Fuel price pressures have remained elevated amid the West Asia conflict. Crude oil briefly crossed the $115 per barrel mark before declining somewhat. The higher prices of crude has led to state-owned oil marketing companies such as BPCL, HPCL and IOCL to raise prices of premium petrol variants by up to ₹2.35 per litre. LPG prices have also increased, with domestic cylinders up by ₹60 and commercial ones by ₹115.

 

Supply disruptions linked to the conflict have tightened LPG availability in the country. The government has directed households to shift to piped natural gas where available within three months, failing which LPG supply may be discontinued. It has also urged consumers to avoid panic buying, maintaining that India has sufficient reserves of fuel and LPG.