Tasmac liquor prices will increase by Rs 10 across Tamil Nadu from November 1, with the additional amount collected as an environment cess and refunded when consumers return empty bottles at Tasmac outlets, according to a circular issued by the state-run retailer.
The new system will be introduced in three Tasmac districts in Chennai and five other districts where the empty bottle collection programme had not previously been implemented because of opposition from retail workers. Consumers will not be required to return a bottle to the outlet where they purchased the liquor.
The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation has directed liquor manufacturers, depots, district managers and retail staff to implement the revised system. The Rs 10 cess will be included in the revised maximum retail price, meaning sales staff cannot charge an additional amount by citing bottle collection arrangements.
“Any collection above the MRP will be treated as an unauthorised collection and serious disciplinary action will follow on such complaints,” the circular said. The directions follow complaints that consumers were being made to pay above the MRP in the name of empty bottle collection.
State prohibition and excise minister K Vignesh had earlier introduced a Bill to impose an environment cess of up to Rs 20 on liquor prices. The Bill was subsequently passed by the Assembly. Vignesh said the decision was taken after complaints that consumers were being overcharged during the collection of empty bottles.
Under the new arrangement, staff at Tasmac outlets will accept empty liquor bottles and refund Rs 10 to consumers. Tasmac officials in all five regions have been asked to coordinate with banks where the corporation maintains accounts to ensure that Rs 10 notes and coins are available for reimbursements.
The collected bottles will initially be handed over to approved vendors. A reverse vendor for the bottles will be selected later through a tender process. Until that process is completed, the responsibility for collection and storage will remain with outlet staff.
Tasmac will provide outlets with daily funds to manage the additional work. Shops within Chennai Corporation limits will receive up to Rs 2,000 a day, while outlets in other municipal corporations will receive Rs 1,800. Shops in municipalities and town panchayats will receive Rs 1,600, and those in village panchayats will receive Rs 1,500.
The corporation said reimbursement charges would be met from the environment cess, with district managers required to maintain records. The arrangement places responsibility for both cash refunds and bottle handling at the retail outlet level while the longer-term vendor system is finalised.
D Dhanasekaran, general secretary of the Tasmac Workers’ Association affiliated to AITUC, said the system was being introduced at short notice. He said it should have been implemented after a reverse vendor was finalised, arguing that workers would face additional expenses for manpower and premises to store the bottles.
The revised MRP, the Rs 10 refund and the prohibition on extra collections will apply from November 1. Tasmac’s next operational step is to finalise the reverse vendor through a tender process and coordinate the availability of refund cash across its outlets.
