Madras High Court Warns Tasmac Against Overcharging Liquor Consumers

The Madras High Court on Friday reprimanded the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac), warning that the state-run liquor retail monopoly has no license or authority to collect extra money from liquor consumers in Chennai.

A special bench comprising Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy issued the legal warning. The court clarified that a previous order permitting Tasmac to collect a Rs 10 deposit for returning empty bottles must not be used as an excuse to overcharge buyers.

The bench emphasized that the additional fee was designed strictly as a refundable incentive to encourage recycling, rather than an unauthorized price hike above the retail price.

"It shall be part of the bill and be given back when empty bottles are returned," the bench said during the Friday hearing. "The additional Rs 10 was allowed to be collected to incentivise returning of empty bottles, but it has been misconceived as a license to demand additional amount over the MRP."

The warning reinforces that collecting any extra fees above the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) is unauthorized and illegal.

In response to the court's concerns, the Tamil Nadu government informed the bench on Friday that it is planning a complete revamp of the empty liquor bottle buyback scheme.

The state government is currently exploring new ways to execute the buyback program without utilizing Tasmac staff to collect the empty bottles. State representatives also assured the High Court that the administration maintains a policy of zero tolerance towards corruption.