Restaurant India News: CCPA Warns Restaurants Against Adding LPG Charges to Customer Bills

India’s consumer protection regulator, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), has directed restaurants not to levy additional charges such as LPG fees, gas surcharges, or fuel recovery costs on customer bills, even as the sector faces rising operational expenses due to higher commercial LPG prices.

The regulator stated that adding such charges could be interpreted as an attempt to bypass existing service charge guidelines by using alternative terminology. Any violation of the directive may attract regulatory action under applicable laws. “Such practices result in lack of transparency and impose unjustified costs on consumers,” the CCPA said in a statement.

The directive comes at a time when restaurants are dealing with increased input costs following supply disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict. The situation has constrained LPG availability in India, prompting the government to prioritise supply for essential sectors such as households and urea production.

Industry estimates indicate that commercial LPG cylinders are already 30 percent costlier or more, with nearly 90 percent of India’s liquified petroleum gas imports sourced from West Asia. This has created operational pressure for the food service industry, marking one of the most significant cost challenges since the Covid-19 lockdown period, when widespread closures led to job losses across restaurant operations and allied roles.

Sagar Daryani, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), said, “All restaurants should mark up their prices if they feel the pressure due to LPG instead of levying an extra charge.”

Industry stakeholders indicate that rising LPG prices are part of a broader increase in raw material costs, which may eventually lead to menu price revisions. Pradeep Shetty, spokesperson of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), said that most restaurants are closely tracking LPG and other commodity costs and are likely to pass on part of the increase to consumers. He added that larger restaurant operators have largely avoided introducing LPG-specific charges so far.

Saurabh Khanijo, managing director of Asian cuisine chain Kylin, said, “If all input costs increase, then we will take a decision on increasing prices. So far, we have not made any changes to prices.”

The CCPA’s intervention follows multiple consumer complaints received through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), highlighting concerns around billing transparency in restaurants.

The directive reinforces the need for transparent pricing structures while increasing pressure on operators to absorb or strategically pass on rising input costs through menu pricing rather than add-on charges.