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CategoryRegulatory
Published16 February 2026
Authors
Uğurcan TekinPartner
Beyza ErdemirAttorney at Law
Sıla UçarLegal Trainee

Amendment on Fees Chargeable to Consumers in Food and Beverage Services

The legislative amendment process conducted by the Ministry of Trade with the aim of preventing potential disputes between service providers and consumers, and eliminating consumer grievances, has been completed. The Regulation Amending the Price Tag Regulation was published in the Official Gazette dated 30 January 2026 and numbered 33153, and has entered into force accordingly.

Under the said amendment, the legal framework governing charges frequently encountered in practice — such as service charges, table charges, cover charges and similar items — particularly in establishments providing food and beverage services, including restaurants, cafés, patisseries and comparable venues, has been clarified. In this context, the limits concerning the fees that may be requested from consumers have been expressly defined.

Scope of the Legislative Amendment

Pursuant to the amendment, paragraph six of Article 8 of the Price Tag Regulation, published in the Official Gazette dated 28 June 2014 and numbered 29044, has been revised.

Within this framework, while the obligation to indicate expressly in the tariff and price list any fee charged under any designation other than those specified therein remains in force, it has been explicitly prohibited to request any additional payment from consumers — under the name of service charge, table charge, cover charge or any similar denomination — in restaurants, cafés, patisseries and other establishments providing food and beverage services.

Through this amendment, the scope of the fees that may be charged to consumers has been expressly limited, and businesses are permitted to request payment solely for the food and beverages ordered by the consumer as consideration for the service provided.

“Consumers may, apart from the price of the food and beverages they have ordered, make gratuity payments solely on a voluntary basis and at their own discretion.”

Any mandatory charge imposed under the designation of service fee, table fee, cover charge or any similar title is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, no fee may be requested for cover items or complimentary appetisers served prior to the placement of an order, unless such items have been explicitly requested by the consumer.

Only the food and beverages actually ordered may be charged; anything further requires the consumer's express request.
Price tags, shelf labels and menu boards are the front line of consumer-price enforcement.

Enforcement Against Indirect Circumvention

The Ministry of Trade has intensified its inspections against businesses attempting to circumvent the regulation through indirect practices. In the statement issued by the Ministry on 7 February 2026 it was noted that:

“By incorporating the service charge into the listed prices, thereby giving rise to an example of unfair commercial practice, this business has clearly engaged in an unfair price increase through the method of including the service charge in the menu price, despite the removal of the service charge practice… Should the Board determine that the act falls within the scope of Law No. 6585 and results in an unfair price increase, an administrative fine of TRY 1,860,170 shall be imposed on the relevant Company.”

This assessment demonstrates that implementation of the amendment has commenced without delay, and underscores that businesses may be subject to administrative sanctions not only for formal non-compliance, but also for practices that contravene the substantive intent and spirit of the regulation.

Assessment and Key Considerations for Practice

With this amendment, additional charge practices long subject to debate in the food and beverage sector have been expressly restricted. It is of material importance for businesses to align their menus and price lists with the current legislation, to revise their advertising and promotional materials accordingly, and to review their actual practices to ensure full compliance with the new regulatory framework. Any contrary practice may give rise to administrative sanctions pursuant to Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers.

  • Menus, price lists and digital ordering interfaces should be reviewed so that no charge appears under a prohibited designation
  • Menu pricing should not be adjusted so as to absorb a removed service charge, since the Ministry treats this as an unfair price increase
  • Staff procedures should ensure that cover items and appetisers are served only where expressly requested by the consumer
  • Franchise and concession agreements should be aligned so that group-wide pricing practice matches the amended requirements
  • Point-of-sale systems should be configured so that prohibited charge lines cannot be added to a bill
  • Complaint-handling procedures should account for the arbitration committee route available to consumers

Conclusion

The amendment clearly limits the scope of fees that may be charged to consumers by establishments providing food and beverage services, and prohibits additional charge items capable of creating ambiguity in practice. It is therefore essential for the relevant businesses to bring their menu contents, pricing policies and operational practices promptly into compliance with the applicable legislation in order to prevent potential administrative sanctions — bearing in mind that, as the Ministry's February 2026 statement demonstrates, compliance is assessed by reference to substance rather than form.

Related practice areaCorporate Law & Commercial Advisory→

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