TASMAC bottle prices in Tamil Nadu will include the existing Rs 10 bottle-return amount from November 1, ending the practice of collecting it separately above the printed price, according to a report by Dinamalar – Tamil Nadu. Customers will be required to pay only the price printed on the bottle, while the Rs 10 refund for returning an empty bottle will continue under a QR-code verification process.
The change is intended to address repeated complaints that TASMAC outlets were collecting an additional Rs 10 from customers for each bottle. Under the earlier arrangement described in the report, the amount was collected separately and returned when the empty bottle was handed back. The new system will incorporate the amount into the printed price of the bottle under an environmental and social welfare tax.
From November 1, TASMAC outlets will not be permitted to charge customers more than the printed price. The report says disciplinary action will be taken against employees who collect any additional amount. The change therefore shifts the point at which the Rs 10 is collected, while retaining the refund mechanism for customers who return empty bottles.
The revised process will also allow customers to return an empty bottle at any TASMAC outlet, even if the liquor was purchased from a different shop. Payment will be made only after the bottle’s QR code is scanned and verified, according to the report. The system is intended to link the bottle to the refund process and provide a common verification method across outlets.
TASMAC has instructed all shops to display notices in Tamil and English by October 31. The notices will state that liquor bottles will be sold at the printed price, that no additional amount will be collected, and that customers will receive Rs 10 for returning an empty bottle.
The reported change comes after earlier measures aimed at reducing separate collection of the amount at TASMAC outlets. These included a wage increase for TASMAC employees and the government taking responsibility for certain shop-related expenses, according to Dinamalar. Despite those measures, the report says customers continued to complain that the additional Rs 10 was being collected at many outlets.
The arrangement also gives the bottle-return process a wider operational footprint by allowing returns across TASMAC shops rather than restricting them to the outlet where the purchase was made. The report does not provide details on the number of bottles covered, the technology provider operating the QR verification system, or the disciplinary procedure that will apply to employees found collecting more than the printed price.
TASMAC outlets are expected to display the bilingual notices by October 31, with the revised printed-price and bottle-refund procedure taking effect on November 1.
