CHENNAI: Consumers can order liquor through the Tasmac website (tasmac.tn.gov.in) from Friday, Prohibition and Excise Minister K Vignesh announced on Thursday. He also clarified the website will only be an online platform for payment and would not facilitate home delivery of liquor.
Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, the minister said the customers must visit the selected Tasmac outlet after making the payment online and collect the liquor after showing the QR code generated through the website.
Dismissing reports about doorstep delivery, Vignesh said some people are spreading false information about the new system. “There is no home delivery. Customers have to visit the outlet in person to collect the liquor after completing the online payment,” he said.
He said the online system has been introduced in compliance with the court directions to ensure bills are issued for every liquor sale. It would also help ensure liquor is sold only at the maximum retail price (MRP) printed on the bottle.
The minister said the new facility would reduce the burden on employees at cash counters and help consumers avoid standing in long queues to make payments. It would also enable customers to check the availability of different liquor brands at individual Tasmac outlets before placing their orders. “The system will bring more transparency in liquor sales and help prevent the illegal collection of an extra Rs 10 from customers,” he said.
Vignesh said Tasmac outlets causing inconvenience to the public would be identified, inspected and shifted.
He said the TVK government has also been resolving various administrative issues in Tasmac, including employees’ salary-related matters, payment of electricity charges, liquor carton handling and other operational problems in a phased manner.
On the complaints of illicit liquor sales, Vignesh said the matter would be brought to the notice of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and suitable action would be taken.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Tasmac Employees’ Association has strongly opposed the introduction of online payment, stating that there are many practical difficulties involved. In a statement, it said, “The government should clarify the safeguards put in place to ensure that legal provisions are not violated through website-based liquor sales.”