Chennai: Liquor buyers say little has changed at Tasmac outlets across the city. Salesmen charge ₹10 above the maximum retail price (MRP), insist on cash, refuse to take back empty bottles and abuse customers who question them. Staff were also not wearing the uniforms mandated from Nov 15, citing a shortage of material from Co-optex.“Fleecing of liquor buyers is as rampant as before. In the imported liquor shop (No. 422) on Nelson Manickam Road, ₹40 is collected more than the MRP for a 750ml liquor bottle. The workers calculate ₹10 for every 180ml. Also, they do not accept UPI or card payments and insist on cash,” said S Prakash, a resident of Nungambakkam. “Salesmen are rude and refuse to sell liquor to customers unwilling to pay above the MRP,” he said. Similar complaints have come from across the city, with buyers alleging little enforcement by Tasmac.In T Nagar, buyers said staff at shop No. 620 charged ₹10 extra per bottle but did not accept empty bottles. Customers at the elite outlet in Anna Nagar, shop No. 440, reported the same surcharge and no provision to return bottles. In Pallikaranai and Pammal, where outlets already collect empty bottles, customers said some returns were being rejected. “I bought two 180ml liquor bottles yesterday, but they accepted only one liquor bottle, saying the other bottle could not be scanned,” said an elderly man at shop No. 4158 in Pammal.A bar owner who collects the empty bottles blamed salesmen for not scanning every bottle properly at the time of sale. “Only when they scan the QR code for the ₹10 cess during sale, will the scanner detect the bottles during collection,” he said. Customers in the suburbs also reported being charged above the MRP — ₹5 extra per bottle at some shops and ₹10 at others.The district managers in charge of Tasmac’s Chennai North, Central and South districts could not be reached for comment on the complaints about overcharging and bottle returns. Tasmac managing director K Nanthakumar did not respond to calls.
