Türkiye moves to ban mandatory extra charges at cafes, restaurants

ISTANBUL

Türkiye is preparing new consumer rules to prohibit cafes and restaurants from imposing mandatory fees, such as service charges added to the bill regardless of tipping, a practice that has recently led to widespread complaints.

According to a draft regulation prepared by the Trade Ministry, customers will only pay for the food and drinks they order.

Any additional payment, such as a tip, will be entirely voluntary.

The ministry had previously required businesses to display full prices, including any service fee (compulsory charges added for service), at entrances and on menus, which allowed such charges as long as they were clearly listed.

Although that policy aimed to increase transparency, some establishments continued to introduce extra charges under different names, prompting renewed public complaints.

The new draft states that businesses may no longer demand obligatory payments beyond the listed price of the meal, banning both service fees and mandatory table charges, a fee simply for occupying a seat.

Tipping in Türkiye has grown more confusing as card payments now dominate restaurant transactions.

When customers add a tip by card, it is usually processed as part of a service fee — counted as business income and taxed heavily — in some cases, leaving workers with less than half of the intended amount.

Industry representatives are now pushing for a system that records card-based tips clearly as gratuities, allowing them to go directly to employees with a much smaller deduction.