Trade minister Arman Shakkaliev said that Kazakhstan wants to ban cafes and restaurants from charging a 10% service fee.
According to Kursiv.media, the minister said that the department is currently preparing changes to the internal trade regulations, which are expected to be presented in October.
"We believe that if services are provided to you, the service is already included in them, and there should be no additional charges. These are the rules we are currently discussing; clearly, not all businesses are ready to support such changes, but nonetheless we are preparing them. This concerns the forced payment of tips, various deposits, contributions, and so on," said Shakkaliev.
According to Shakkaliev, tips as a mandatory requirement will be excluded in the new rules.
"They will remove the 10% for service. If this amount is already included in the cost of your service, why should you pay twice? This amount is already included in the price of the food and drinks," he added.
The minister assured that the new rules will come into force after undergoing a regulatory impact assessment and public consultations.