Minister for Prohibition and Excise K. Vignesh said on Monday (August 31, 2026) that the “extra ₹10” collected at Tasmac liquor shops was the result of years of underpaying the shop workers and non-allocation of funds for paying electricity bills or for the upkeep of the outlets.
Responding to Deputy Leader of the Opposition K.N. Nehru of the DMK, who asked why the extra charge of ₹10 per bottle was still being collected, Mr. Vignesh said, “The problem at Tasmac is that the consumers don’t decide which liquor brands will be sold at the outlets, but politicians do.”
The Minister, who presented the demand for grants for his departments, said, “When we tried to stop the staff from collecting the extra charge, we found that it cost them at least ₹10,000 a month to keep the shop running. Those who are earning ₹11,000 a month cannot do this. Who made them collect the extra ₹10? What did you [the previous DMK government] do to stop this practice? The workers are telling me that they were collecting only ₹5, but it was the officials who made them collect more. It is the DMK which made them do it.”
Mr. Nehru said it was unfair to accuse the DMK of corruption when the Minister himself admitted in the Assembly that the money was collected for the upkeep of the stores.
Law Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar added, “The issue of corruption over “₹10” ccame to the fore after 10% [₹10] was fixed… This means 10% of the ₹50,000 crore. ₹5,000 crore is not a small money.”
DMK MLA and former Minister E.V. Velu said attempts were being made to brand the DMK as corrupt. “If there was corruption, take action and let courts decide. You keep saying that there has been leakage and corruption. There is an attempt to start a propaganda against the DMK. If we keep talking about this, we are wasting time,” he said.
PMK floor leader Sowmiya Anbumani appealed to the government to bring in prohibition and appreciated the government for the establishment of 20 new POCSO Act courts to speed up trial.
Mr. Vignesh said an e-Kalaal application would be created at a cost of ₹1.69 crore. It would cover FL 2, FL 3, FL 3A, and FL 3AA licence cancellation, transfer, renewal, and foreign liquor import licensing. He said the government would create a methanol control policy to prevent proliferation of illicit liquor. The government had also increased the money given to those who had spent time in jail and were freed from ₹50,000 to ₹1,00,000.
After rolling out a 25% increase in July, Mr. Vignesh announced another wage hike for the Tasmac workers, who are in service for the last 23 years, with effect from September 1.
He said, “From September 1, 2026, supervisors will be paid ₹33,023, salesman will be paid ₹30,284, assistant salesman will be paid ₹28,680. The pay increase will cost the exchequer ₹486.90 crore. The workers will receive ₹20,000 in festival advance and an annual uniform allowance of ₹6,000. Towards maintenance, the shops in the municipal corporations will get ₹5,000, those in the municipalities will get ₹4,000 and those in rural areas will get ₹3,000.”
The cost of FL 2 licence had been increased from ₹15 lakh to ₹30 lakh, and this increase would likely bring in a revenue of ₹37.75 crore.
The Minister said, “When the workers sought a wage hike [in the past], those who were running the department told them that they had already been collecting more per bottle. Since department officials allowed them to collect more, the workers found it convenient to do so. During COVID-19, when physical distancing had to be maintained and PPE kits had to be bought, the additional cost of a bottle increased. We need to look at the underlying causes. The workers also committed mistakes, and they were instigated to do so.”
He added that the additional privilege fee of ₹90, ₹40, and ₹20 had been levied on a box of Indian Made Foreign Liquor, a case of beer and wine respectively. This levy would bring in an additional revenue of ₹209.75 crore. He warned the workers that charging extra would not be tolerated any more.
Published – August 31, 2026 09:35 pm IST
