TASMAC
Encyclopedia
Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) is a company owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu
, which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcohol in Tamil Nadu
, a state in India
. It controls the Indian Made Foreign Liquor
(IMFL) trade in the state.
(MGR) for wholesale vending of alcohol in Tamil Nadu. The state has a long history of prohibition
, first implemented in 1937 by the Indian National Congress
government of C. Rajagopalachari
. Between 1937 and 2001, it was lifted briefly during 1971-74, 1981–87 and 1990-91. After 1983, TASMAC was in charge of wholesale liquor sales in the state whenever prohibition was lifted. In 2001, prohibition was lifted again and TASMAC became the wholesale monopoly for alcohol. For retail vending, the state auctioned off licenses for running liquor shops and bars. But this led to the formation of cartels and loss of revenue to the state. The government tried to counter this by introducing a lot system from the financial year 2001-02, where potential bidders bid for shops grouped by revenue. But the lot system could not prevent cartelisation, as bidders later withdrew in favour of others. In October 2003, the government passed an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937, making TASMAC the sole retail vendor of alcohol in the state. By 2004 all private outlets selling alcohol were either shut down or taken over by the company. This monopoly established by the ADMK government of J. Jayalalitha came into effect on 29 November 2003. The DMK government of M. Karunanidhi
which took power in 2006, did not revise its predecessor's policy and TASMAC continues to control the alcohol industry in the state.
towers in Egmore
, Chennai
. It is governed by a board whose members belong to the Indian Administrative Service
(IAS). The company organisation is divided territorially into five regions- Chennai, Coimbatore
, Madurai
, Trichy and Salem each under a regional manager. These regions are further divided into 33 districts run by district managers. As of 2010, the company has around 30,000 employees and operates about 6800 retail liquor outlets throughout the state. Employees of TASMAC are not considered as government employees and are not entitled to the benefits and legal rights (like statutory pay, paid holidays and a 8 hour workday) of other employees of the state. The retail outlets do not have individual names. Instead they are named as "TASMAC Shop XXX", where XXX stands for the outlet number. They are popularly referred to as "wine shops", though they sell other kinds of liquor as well. About half the outlets have bars attached to them.
Since the take over by the government, TASMAC has seen an annual revenue of growth of around 20 percent every year. The turnover in 1983 (the year of incorporation) was 183 Crore Rupees. In 2002-03 before the take over of retail vending, the turnover was 3499.75 Crore Rupees, out of which the government got a tax revenue of 2,828.09 Crore Rupees. After the take over of retail vending, the tax revenue shot up to 3,639 Crore Rupees in the financial year 2003-04. The tax revenue has two components - excise tax and sales tax
each constituting roughly 50% of the total. The entire tax revenue is accounted as profit for the state since it is both the wholesale and retail vendor and the difference in the prices goes directly to the state exchequer. In the following four financial years revenue increased to 4872, 6087, 7300 and 8822 Crore Rs respectively. In 2005-06, the 23 year old record for alcohol sales revenue in the state was broken. The 10,000 Crore (100 Billion) Rupees mark was reached in the financial year 2008-09, when the revenue was 10,601.5 Crore Rupees. For the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 it stood at 12,491 and 14,965 Crores respectively. Besides the tax revenue, the company also makes money by selling annual licenses to run bars in its retail outlets. The steady growth in revenue is accounted for by the periodical increase in retail prices and by increasing alcohol consumption in the state. Hard liquors like whiskey, rum
, wine
, brandy
and vodka
account for about 80% of the sales and beer accounts for the remaining 20%.
of Pondicherry, where alcohol prices are low and different brands are available. TASMAC has been forced to offer more choices of brands to counter the increase in smuggling of non-available alcohol brands into the state.
Government of Tamil Nadu
The Government of Tamil Nadu, headquartered at Chennai is the governing authority for the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at the Fort St. George...
, which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcohol in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, a state in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It controls the Indian Made Foreign Liquor
Indian Made Foreign Liquor
Indian Made Foreign Liquor, often abbreviated IMFL, is a term used to denote western-style hard liquors such as whisky, rum, vodka, etc., which are manufactured in India...
(IMFL) trade in the state.
History
TASMAC was established in 1983 by the government of M. G. RamachandranM. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....
(MGR) for wholesale vending of alcohol in Tamil Nadu. The state has a long history of prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, first implemented in 1937 by the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
government of C. Rajagopalachari
Chief Ministership of Rajagopalachari
C. Rajagopalachari was a Chief Minister of erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India and Tamil Nadu of Independent India. He was the first Indian National Congress member to assume office in Madras Presidency. He served as a Chief Minister for two terms spanning about 5 years...
. Between 1937 and 2001, it was lifted briefly during 1971-74, 1981–87 and 1990-91. After 1983, TASMAC was in charge of wholesale liquor sales in the state whenever prohibition was lifted. In 2001, prohibition was lifted again and TASMAC became the wholesale monopoly for alcohol. For retail vending, the state auctioned off licenses for running liquor shops and bars. But this led to the formation of cartels and loss of revenue to the state. The government tried to counter this by introducing a lot system from the financial year 2001-02, where potential bidders bid for shops grouped by revenue. But the lot system could not prevent cartelisation, as bidders later withdrew in favour of others. In October 2003, the government passed an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937, making TASMAC the sole retail vendor of alcohol in the state. By 2004 all private outlets selling alcohol were either shut down or taken over by the company. This monopoly established by the ADMK government of J. Jayalalitha came into effect on 29 November 2003. The DMK government of M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
which took power in 2006, did not revise its predecessor's policy and TASMAC continues to control the alcohol industry in the state.
Organisation
TASMAC is wholly owned by the government of Tamil Nadu, coming under the purview of the Ministry of Prohibition and Excise. Its headquarters is situated at the CMDAChennai Metropolitan Development Authority
The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority , formerly known as Madras Metropolitan Development Authority is the nodal planning agency within the Chennai Metropolitan Area.- History :...
towers in Egmore
Egmore
-Main places:* Chennai Egmore railway station.* Office of the commissioner of Greater Chennai Police department.* Government Museum, Chennai.* Connemara Public Library, one of the biggest libraries in India.* National Art Gallery...
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. It is governed by a board whose members belong to the Indian Administrative Service
Indian Administrative Service
The Indian Administrative Service is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. It is one of the three All India Services....
(IAS). The company organisation is divided territorially into five regions- Chennai, Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
, Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, Trichy and Salem each under a regional manager. These regions are further divided into 33 districts run by district managers. As of 2010, the company has around 30,000 employees and operates about 6800 retail liquor outlets throughout the state. Employees of TASMAC are not considered as government employees and are not entitled to the benefits and legal rights (like statutory pay, paid holidays and a 8 hour workday) of other employees of the state. The retail outlets do not have individual names. Instead they are named as "TASMAC Shop XXX", where XXX stands for the outlet number. They are popularly referred to as "wine shops", though they sell other kinds of liquor as well. About half the outlets have bars attached to them.
Growth
| Fiscal Year | Revenue in Crores | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 - 03 | ||
| 2003 - 04 | ||
| 2004 - 05 | ||
| 2005 - 06 | ||
| 2006 - 07 | ||
| 2007 - 08 | ||
| 2008 - 09 | ||
| 2009 - 10 | ||
| 2010 - 11 |
Since the take over by the government, TASMAC has seen an annual revenue of growth of around 20 percent every year. The turnover in 1983 (the year of incorporation) was 183 Crore Rupees. In 2002-03 before the take over of retail vending, the turnover was 3499.75 Crore Rupees, out of which the government got a tax revenue of 2,828.09 Crore Rupees. After the take over of retail vending, the tax revenue shot up to 3,639 Crore Rupees in the financial year 2003-04. The tax revenue has two components - excise tax and sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
each constituting roughly 50% of the total. The entire tax revenue is accounted as profit for the state since it is both the wholesale and retail vendor and the difference in the prices goes directly to the state exchequer. In the following four financial years revenue increased to 4872, 6087, 7300 and 8822 Crore Rs respectively. In 2005-06, the 23 year old record for alcohol sales revenue in the state was broken. The 10,000 Crore (100 Billion) Rupees mark was reached in the financial year 2008-09, when the revenue was 10,601.5 Crore Rupees. For the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11 it stood at 12,491 and 14,965 Crores respectively. Besides the tax revenue, the company also makes money by selling annual licenses to run bars in its retail outlets. The steady growth in revenue is accounted for by the periodical increase in retail prices and by increasing alcohol consumption in the state. Hard liquors like whiskey, rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
and vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
account for about 80% of the sales and beer accounts for the remaining 20%.
Impact
The reorganisation of retail alcohol trade in the state has brought record revenues for the government allowing it to increase spending on welfare schemes. The revenue from alcohol sales constitutes nearly half of the states annual tax revenues. Tamil Nadu ranks first among the states of India in alcohol sales by volume. While consumption of alcohol has increased among the population, deaths due to consumption of contaminated illicit liquor (common during the prohibition era) have gone down. The monopoly trade has led to widespread irregularities like adulteration, corruption, overpricing and black marketing in the retail outlets. It has also led to increased complaints about disturbances created by drunk patrons from residents in areas where the retail outlets are situated. High retail prices (due to a higher tax rate) and absence of a wide range of choices have led to a thriving alcohol tourism industry in the neighbouring union territoryUnion Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of Pondicherry, where alcohol prices are low and different brands are available. TASMAC has been forced to offer more choices of brands to counter the increase in smuggling of non-available alcohol brands into the state.
See also
- Economy of Tamil NaduEconomy of Tamil NaduTamil Nadu has been ranked No 1 by the Economic Freedom Rankings for the States of India Possessing the fourth largest economy of $ 98 billion among states in India, Tamil Nadu is also the second most industrialised state next to Maharastra. As of 2010-11 Tamil Nadu had a Per Capita GDP of $...
- Kerala State Beverages CorporationKerala State Beverages (M&M) Corporation LtdKerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd is a public sector company owned by the Government of Kerala, which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcohol in Kerala...