TASMAC will restrict cash payments to Rs 500 at its liquor stores in Tamil Nadu and require customers to use digital payment methods for higher-value purchases, in a move aimed at reducing overcharging, cash-handling risks and disputes over change.
The decision was reported by Dinamalar on September 20, citing a TASMAC official. The company is expected to issue instructions to its stores shortly. Until those directions are circulated, the report does not establish when the new payment limit will become operational across the network.
Under the proposed arrangement, customers will be able to pay up to Rs 500 in cash. For purchases above that amount, payment will have to be made digitally. TASMAC already supports digital payments through QR-code scanning, following the computerisation of liquor production and retail operations in 2024.
The computerisation programme requires each liquor bottle sold at a store to be scanned using a handheld device. The system also allows customers to scan a QR code and complete payments digitally. However, cash remains the dominant payment method. More than 80 per cent of transactions are reportedly made in cash, despite average daily sales of about Rs 150 crore and higher sales on weekly and special holidays.
At present, employees retain the cash collected at stores before depositing it in banks the following day. Dinamalar reported that robberies involving money being transported from stores have occurred. Reducing the amount of cash held at outlets is therefore expected to change the way employees handle daily sales and deposits, although TASMAC has not provided details of the security or operational arrangements that will accompany the payment change.
The proposed rule also follows complaints about liquor being sold above the printed price and problems caused by shortages of change. The TASMAC official quoted in the report said that increasing digital transactions would help prevent the sale of bottles at higher prices and address change-related difficulties.
TASMAC has also introduced an online purchase option through which customers can select liquor brands, make payment and display a code at the store to collect their bottles. According to the report, complaints have emerged that customers using this method face delays in receiving their purchases. TASMAC has attributed the problem, in part, to employees showing greater interest in collecting cash payments.
The planned cash ceiling could make the digital channel more important for customers buying multiple bottles or higher-priced products. It will also make the handheld scanning system and payment infrastructure central to the retail process. The report does not provide details on transaction failure procedures, refund arrangements, access for customers without digital payment facilities or how stores will handle network disruptions.
TASMAC is expected to issue formal instructions to its stores on collecting up to Rs 500 in cash and receiving amounts above that limit through digital payment systems.
