The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (Tasmac) netted ₹465.79 crore in revenue in two days through retail liquor sale during Deepavali. On the day of the festival, liquor worth ₹237.91 crore was sold across the State. On the day before Deepavali (November 13), Tasmac registered sales worth ₹227.88 crore.
According to data from various liquor shops, the Madurai zone witnessed the maximum sale this year, followed by Tiruchi.
Tipplers in Madurai consumed liquor worth ₹103.82 crore, while Tiruchi clocked ₹95.47 crore. Chennai zone’s liquor sales stood at ₹94.36 crore, Salem at ₹87.58 crore and Coimbatore at ₹84.56 crore.
“One reason why the revenue figures are higher than in 2019 is the price hike that happened twice this year. Consumption was also quite good, as people were waiting for an occasion to celebrate,” a source in Tasmac said.
Last year, the cash cow of the State government fetched ₹355 crore from the sale of liquor during Deepavali and the preceding day. In 2018, it recorded a sale of Rs. 180 crore on Deepavali day and ₹148 crore the day before, taking the total to Rs. 328 crore. Tasmac liquor prices were hiked twice this year. In February, the price of a quarter bottle (180 ml) of Indian Made Foreign Spirits (IMFS) was hiked by ₹10. The price of beer also went up by ₹10 for a full bottle, after a gap of five years.
In May, the State government hiked the excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) by 15%, resulting in a price increase of ₹10-₹20. Tasmac has 5,338 shops in the State, selling liquor worth ₹130 crore-₹140 crore a day.
