Reports have emerged from Coimbatore suggesting that expired and ageing liquor stock has been redistributed to TASMAC retail outlets in the region as demand rises ahead of the Pongal festival, triggering alarm among employees’ unions and raising questions over consumer safety.
According to TASMAC trade union sources, the state-run liquor retailer has begun moving nearly 20,000 cases of old liquor that had been lying in warehouses for several years. The total value of the stock being dispatched since 6 January 2026 was estimated at ₹16 crore.
Union representatives said around 15,000 cases were being supplied to 159 outlets in Coimbatore North district, while another 50,000 cases were being routed to 48 outlets in Coimbatore South district. Some of the liquor reportedly dated back to 2018, raising concerns that expired or deteriorated products were being pushed onto shelves during the peak festival season.
Employees’ unions, including the Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), which is affiliated to the DMK, were said to have raised objections with the TASMAC administration and demanded that the old stock be destroyed instead of being sold. Union sources said the liquor being distributed carried a single barcode per case, rather than individual bottle-level barcodes, which they said deviated from standard practice and made tracking difficult.
Union representatives said that after workers threatened to approach the District Collector, General Manager (Retail Vending) T Ramadurai Murugan travelled to Coimbatore on Saturday, 10 January 2026, and held an urgent meeting with union leaders. Despite the objections, staff were reportedly instructed to ensure the stock was sold before Pongal.
An LPF representative told TNIE the administration should avoid sending ageing liquor to outlets, warning that any adverse impact on consumers during an election year could have serious consequences.
Another union official explained that the problem appeared to stem from the rollout of TASMAC’s ‘end-to-end’ computerisation system, which was implemented across Tamil Nadu in April 2025 to track liquor from production to sale. He said that during the system’s implementation in Coimbatore, non-aggregated stock from other districts that could not be scanned was transferred to the Coimbatore North and South warehouses through Inter-Depot Transfer (IDT).
He said that similar liquor brands from Coimbatore retail outlets were later returned to warehouses through Customer Return Notes (CRN), resulting in liquor worth around ₹16 crore accumulating in godowns. He added that the colour of many of the bottles had changed and appeared pale due to long-term storage, raising fears about their quality and safety if sold.
However, Prohibition and Excise Minister S Muthusamy told The New Indian Express that he was not aware of any redistribution of old stock. He said old liquor should not be sent to retail outlets and added that he would look into the matter.
Source: The New Indian Express
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.