Tasmac to handover empty bottle collection with distilleries

Chennai: Struggling to comply with the Madras high court order to collect all the empty liquor bottles, Tasmac has now decided to handover the responsibility of collecting and disposing of the empty bottles with the distilleries and breweries themselves.

The Rs 10 being collected for empty bottle return scheme, will now be built-in the maximum retail price (MRP) and will go to the distilleries and breweries enabling them to deploy their own to collect the empty bottles.Tasmac made a submission to this effect before the high court, where the Tasmac managing director, K Nanthakumar, stated that the commissioner of commercial taxes had submitted a proposal to the state govt for the levy of an additional cess of ₹10 as part of the MRP.

“The state is considering to make suitable amendments to the VAT Act and rules,” his report said.Tasmac managing director also submitted that liquor and beer manufacturers have agreed to undertake the responsibility for the collection of empty liquor bottles by deploying their personnel, and added that the commissioner of prohibition and excise is set to make necessary amendments to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, the rules framed thereunder, and the licence conditions applicable to IMFS and Beer manufacturers and suppliers.

Though Tasmac has been implementing empty liquor bottle collection scheme across the State under the supervision of the Madras high court to reduce environmental pollution, the scheme could not be extended to all districts, such as Chennai, due to resistance from employees at liquor vending shops citing additional work burden.The new TVK govt had sought three months for a revised mechanism to implement the empty bottle collection scheme by making necessary policy changes.

High court had granted two months to implement and directed the state to file a status report on the progress.Initially, while implementing the scheme, Tasmac stuck a label on each liquor bottle and collected ₹10 extra over the MRP, and the buyers had to return the bottle to get additional money reimbursed. Also, Tasmac employees themselves had to collect and store empty bottles and surrender them to the collection agency identified through a separate tender.

But Tasmac employees opposed the move as it would overburden them.Later, Tasmac instructed distilleries and breweries to generate QR codes for each bottle for the buyback scheme, yet the bottle collection remained a major issue. With the latest proposed changes, empty bottle collection will become the responsibility of the liquor manufacturers themselves.