Who Gets the 10-Cent Deposit When a Bottle Is Left at a Café? Latvia's PTAC Explains

A social media user on Threads has sparked a wide discussion after sharing a cafe receipt that included a deposit fee for a bottle of kvass. She asked why the customer pays the deposit when the bottle is usually left at the cafe, and who actually receives the 10-cent refund.

Other users joined in with similar stories. One woman said she saw the same charge at Lidl and decided to put the empty bottle in her bag. Another user joked that cafe staff were very diligent about collecting empty bottles but ignored other cups and glasses. A woman named Linda said she finds it absurd to add the deposit as a separate line, especially in a case where her drink was served in a glass and she never even saw the bottle. A different user took a calmer view, saying 10 cents is not worth stressing about and she would leave the bottle behind.

LA.LV asked the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) for an explanation. Eva Eglīte, a senior expert at PTAC, said that if deposit packaging comes into the customer's possession, the cafe may include the deposit fee in the bill. The customer has the right to choose: take the packaging and reclaim the 0.10 euro by returning it to a deposit point, or leave it at the cafe, in which case the business can collect the refund.

Eglīte stressed that if the drink is poured into a glass or the packaging never reaches the customer, the company is not allowed to charge the deposit. So when a customer has paid the deposit and received the bottle, they can take it and later return it to get the money back. If the bottle stays at the cafe, the deposit refund goes to the business.