Diwali sale: Tasmac sells over ₹440 crore worth liquor in just two days

Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) outlets recorded liquor sales of ₹441.38 crore over the two days leading into and including Diwali. Sales stood at ₹234.75 crore on Saturday, November 7, and ₹206.63 crore on Sunday, Diwali day.

The two-day total was driven by pre-festival purchases and Diwali-day sales across the state’s retail network. Tasmac’s average daily liquor sales are about ₹165.60 crore, meaning the two-day festive turnover was well above the normal run rate, according to a report in Times of India that cited Tasmac sources.

The Trichy region emerged as the top-selling zone, recording ₹98.97 crore in sales over the two days. It was followed by Chennai with ₹95.85 crore, Madurai with ₹88.38 crore, Salem with ₹87.52 crore and Coimbatore with ₹70.66 crore. Trichy displaced Madurai, which had previously led the state in liquor sales.

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Sales Lower Than Last Year

Despite the large absolute figure, the two-day total was lower than the corresponding Deepavali period in 2025. Last year, the festival fell on a Monday, creating a three-day sales window of October 18–20, during which Tasmac recorded ₹789.85 crore in liquor sales.

Officials and reports attributed the comparison partly to the shorter sales window this year: the 2026 figures cover only November 7 and 8, while the previous year’s total included three days.

Bottle-Refund Scheme Under Scrutiny

The strong sales came even as Tasmac workers reportedly refused to implement the state’s empty-bottle collection scheme across Tamil Nadu. The scheme has drawn attention because of its implications for refunds to consumers and revenue collection.

The stalled empty-bottle refunds were estimated to have yielded about ₹38 crore in cess revenue, although the figures remain provisional and the scheme’s implementation has become a point of contention.

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Outlook for Festival Sales

Until Monday, November 9, also a government holiday, officials expected Diwali-period sales to rise further. Reports projected that the overall festival-season turnover could cross ₹633 crore once the additional day’s sales were included.

The figures underline the scale of Tasmac’s role in Tamil Nadu’s festive economy, even as the corporation faces operational questions over bottle buybacks and point-of-sale machine glitches during the rush.