59% Consumers Paid Service Charge At AC Restaurants Last Month: Survey

Last Updated:February 11, 2026, 17:31 IST

The survey received over 39,000 responses from consumers located in over 288 districts of the country. While 63% respondents were men, 37% respondents were women

Even though the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has classified service charge as an Unfair Trade Practice, 59% consumers who visited air-conditioned restaurants in the last one month paid it, a LocalCircles survey has found.

LocalCircles conducted the survey to find out whether, the government and court intervention has made any difference to the practice of adding service charge to the bills consumers have to pay in air-conditioned restaurants.

The survey received over 39,000 responses from consumers located in over 288 districts of the country. While 63% respondents were men, 37% respondents were women. 45% respondents were from tier 1, 29% from tier 2 and 26% respondents were from tier 3 and 4 districts.

Percentage of consumers who paid service charge rose from 43% in 2022 to 59% in 2026

The survey asked restaurant goers, “When you visited an air-conditioned restaurant in the last one month. What was your most common experience with service charge?"

Of the 19,455 who responded to the question, 59% stated that the “restaurant charged, and we paid"; 16% of respondents stated that the “restaurant charged, and we got them to remove" the service charge; 18% of respondents however stated that the “restaurant did not charge" for services; and 7% of respondents did not give a clear answer.

To sum up, 59% of consumers who went to an air-conditioned restaurant in the last one month paid a service charge. A comparison between the survey results in 2022 and now shows that the percentage of consumers surveyed who went to an air conditioned restaurant and paid service charge has risen from 43% to 59% in 2026.

54% of consumers believe CCPA should create enforceable restaurant service charge guidelines

As the government guidelines have so far had limited impact on air-conditioned restaurants across the country, the survey asked consumers, “How should CCPA (central government) act against air-conditioned restaurants still levying forced service charge in bills?"

Of the 20,276 who responded to the question, 54% stated that the CCPA should “create enforceable Restaurant Service Charge Guidelines and enforce them via state legal metrology"; 39% of respondents stated that the “CCPA does not need to enforce any Restaurant Service Charge Guidelines and Government should stay out of private transactions"; and 4% of respondents did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 54% of consumers surveyed believe that CCPA should create enforceable restaurant service charge guidelines and enforce them via state legal metrology departments.

LocalCircles is a Community Social Media platform that enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables the Government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric.

News india 59% Consumers Paid Service Charge At AC Restaurants Last Month: Survey

Read More