Chennai: Employees of liquor outlets operated by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) Tuesday continued to oppose the revised empty-bottle buyback scheme of Vijay’s TVK government. With hundreds of TASMAC outlets staying closed for the third consecutive day, the state is seeing pre-Diwali panic buying and long queues outside the few that remained open.
The revised scheme folds a Rs 10 environment and social welfare cess into the maximum retail price (MRP) of liquor. Earlier, under the buyback scheme, Rs 10 was collected separately at the outlet during purchase, which workers and officials said created operational friction and allegations of overcharging. By folding the Rs 10 into the MRP, the Vijay government says it aims to bring the money fully into the system, ensure refunds reach customers who return bottles, and channel unclaimed sums toward environmental purposes.
Under the new system, the Rs 10 amount previously collected separately at the counter is included in the printed MRP of all liquor varieties including Indian-made foreign liquor, beer, wine and others. Customers can reclaim the amount by returning the empty bottles at any TASMAC outlet, subject to verification, regardless of where the bottle was purchased. The outlet staff are required to scan bottles—once during the purchase and again when the empty bottle is returned—handle collection and temporary storage, and process refunds. The government also announced that digital payments have been made mandatory for purchases above Rs 1,000.
TASMAC workers started protesting against the move and many others closed the stores after the announcement on 1 November. The protest has affected more than 650 shops across several districts including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Madurai, Erode, Karur, Vellore, Kanyakumari and Krishnagiri.
Customers who found shutters down on Sunday and Monday rushed to the outlets that remained open, leading to long queues that stretched for hours even in the rain until late night. Rumours of further shutdowns circulated on social media, fueling panic buying as people sought to stock up before Diwali, a period of traditionally high liquor sales.
On grounds that many shops were closed without prior notice to the management, TASMAC has suspended 245 retail shop supervisors and issued show-cause notices to 1,729 employees for unauthorised closures. Notices were issued in Madurai, Salem, Trichy and Chennai. Prohibition and Excise Minister K. Vignesh has warned that the government will not tolerate disruption of services and that strict action will continue against those who keep outlets shut.
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Why are TASMAC workers against revised empty-bottle buyback scheme?
TASMAC worker unions say the changes were rolled out with inadequate preparation and have sharply increased their workload. The employees argue that outlets already operate with limited staff and cramped spaces. Adding the responsibility of verifying, scanning and storing used bottles without extra manpower, sufficient scanning devices or dedicated storage has made daily operations difficult.
Dhanasekar, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu TASMAC Employees Union, met TASMAC Managing Director (MD) T. Christuraj Tuesday and placed the demands of the employees, highlighting the challenges of technical glitches with scanners and software, short notice for updating price stickers, and the need to manage both sales and returns.
“The scanning devices need to be provided to streamline the process. The union representatives have also demanded that bottle collection be outsourced or handled through automated reverse vending machines rather than placed on retail staff. We are also struggling with workload and we have requested the government to recruit the staff members at retail outlets,” Dhanasekar told ThePrint.
He also said that all stores have been ordered to open after talks with the officials. The union has also requested that suspensions of staff be revoked.
Excise minister Vignesh Tuesday told the media that reverse vending machines will be installed at all 4,048 TASMAC outlets to streamline returns and improve transparency, with the tender process expected to move quickly. He also claimed that separate collections under the previous arrangements lacked proper accountability.
TASMAC officials say they have held discussions with the employees’ union and have agreed to keep all stores open, while requesting a revocation of the staff suspensions. The Vijay government is yet to announce a decision on the same.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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