Addressing the levy of any forced surcharge amidst the West Asia crisis’ impact on LPG supplies, the Consumer Central Protection Authority (CCPA), in an advisory issued Tuesday (March 24, 2026), asked restaurants and hotels to not levy any unfair additional charges, such as ‘gas surcharge’, ‘fuel cost recovery’ or ‘gas crisis charge’, over and above the final price of food.

Also read: Fuel crisis updates on March 25, 2026

The watchdog termed such levies as violation of existing guidelines, in addition to being an “unfair trade practice” as it entails “unjustified costs and lack of transparency”.

“The present practice of levying ‘LPG charges’ or similar charges is an attempt to circumvent the aforesaid guidelines by adopting a different nomenclature,” it stated, adding, “The CCPA has clarified that input costs such as fuel, LPG, electricity and other operational expenses are part of the cost of running a business and must be factored into the pricing of menu items.”

CCPA held that any imposition of the “unfair or unauthorised charges” would be “dealt with appropriately, and necessary action shall be taken”.

The watchdog asked consumers to request removal of any such levy from the bill amount and/or lodge a complaint with the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), among other things.