4,600 Tasmac salesmen fined for MRP violations

CHENNAI: Over 4,600 salespersons in Tasmac liquor outlets situated across Tamil Nadu have indulged in malpractices by selling liquor beyond the Maximum Retail Price (MRP).

An RTI application filed by a city-based social activist, M Kasimayan, revealed that during the last 10 months starting December 2021, a total of more than Rs 5 crore was collected as fine from the salespersons.

The RTI reply further said a total of 4,658 salespersons in the Tasmac liquor shops indulged in malpractice by charging the consumers more than MRP.

Stating that the RTI application was filed four months back, the social activist claimed that the RTI office has given details of the fine amount collected only in 29 districts.

According to RTI’s reply, Erode and Coimbatore districts top the list with a fine amount of Rs 46.8 lakh and Rs 40.5 lakh respectively during the last 10 months.

At the same time, the number of salesmen who were slapped with fines was also high in these districts.

The RTI reply said that action was taken against a total of 397 sales persons in Erode while in Coimbatore district action was taken against 344 sales persons for selling liquor higher than MRP. The least fine amount of Rs 8.4 lakh was collected in the Ramanathapuram district.