Tamil Nadu liquor sales touch 441 crore rupees during Deepavali festival

The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation recorded liquor sales worth 441.38 crore rupees during Deepavali 2026, though market observers note a slight dip compared to previous years.

Sales Breakdown

On the eve of the festival, the corporation sold liquor worth over 234.75 crore rupees, while sales stood at 206.63 crore rupees on the day of Deepavali itself. Among different zones, Tiruchi recorded the highest sales at 98.97 crore rupees, closely followed by Chennai at 95.85 crore rupees. Madurai recorded 88.38 crore rupees, Salem reported 87.52 crore rupees, and Coimbatore stood at 70.66 crore rupees.

Issues and Actions

Salesmen attributed the marginal drop in sales to technical problems with point-of-sale machines and confusion over an empty bottle buy-back scheme, which caused some buyers to stock up early. A senior official stated that about 1,000 new point-of-sale machines will soon be deployed across outlets to fix these issues. Meanwhile, Prohibition and Excise Minister K. Vignesh noted that around 44 salesmen were suspended between November 1 and 5 for violating maximum retail price norms, with more action expected against rule-breakers.

Cess and Operations

The corporation collected about 38 crore rupees through an environment protection cess. A 10-rupee environmental and social welfare cess has been levied on liquor sales since November 1, 2026, to help buy back empty bottles. As of July 2026, the corporation operates 4,048 retail vending shops and employs 22,877 workers, and it earned a revenue of 50,845 crore rupees for the 2025-2026 financial year.

Context

State-run retail corporations in India often handle massive public-sector sales during major festivals like Deepavali. Managing thousands of retail outlets and large workforces makes digital payment issues and pricing enforcement common operational challenges for such state agencies.