Liquor bottle buyback scheme: Tasmac tells Madras HC considering proposal to add ₹10 refundable deposit to MRP

TASMAC AI Powered Bottle Storage Units in Chennai File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) on Friday (July 10, 2026) told the Madras High Court that it proposes to include a refundable deposit of ₹10, which is collected from individual customers under the buyback scheme for empty bottles, in the maximum retail price (MRP) of each bottle of liquor.

A special division bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy was told that TASMAC also proposes to transfer the responsibility of collection, transportation, recycling and disposal of empty bottles to liquor makers after allowing them to increase the MRP by ₹10.

TASMAC Managing Director K. Nanthakumar said that after filing a status report before the Bench, the company has started looking into the possibility of restructuring the existing mechanism for the buy-back scheme of empty bottles only on the basis of a legal opinion submitted by Advocate General Vijay Narayan on 17 June 2026.

Thereafter, on 18 June 2026, TASMAC requested the Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise to make necessary amendments to the relevant provisions of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, the rules contained therein and the license conditions applicable to Indian Foreign Manufacturers of Spirits (IMFS) and Beer.

TASMAC told the court that the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes has already submitted a proposal to the state government to levy an additional charge of ₹10 per bottle of liquor as part of the MRP and has also submitted a proposal to the government for subsequent changes in tax laws.

While the proposal was being discussed by the government, “the IMFS and beer producers’ associations have agreed in principle to take responsibility for the collection of empty liquor bottles by deploying their staff using the technology prescribed by TASMAC,” the status report said.

The court was also assured that the liquor manufacturers will be advised to adopt eco-friendly methods of disposal of empty bottles and implement a QR code based tracking mechanism to ensure that all empty bottles are safely collected and disposed of without causing harm to humans and animals.

It was the court that ordered the introduction of the empty bottle buyback program a few years ago after finding that empty bottles dumped in forest areas were causing great physical harm to animals, especially elephants. It also took note of the blood injuries suffered by the rag pickers due to the broken bottles.

Published – 11 Jul 2026 11:34 IST