Tasmac outlets sold liquor worth ₹441.38 crore on Deepavali eve and Deepavali day, and officials expected the long weekend to close near ₹633.38 crore.
Tiruchy, not Chennai, sold the most.
Over Saturday 7 November and Sunday 8 November, Tasmac’s Tiruchy region rang up ₹98.97 crore, a little ahead of the Chennai region’s ₹95.85 crore, according to figures Tasmac officials released on 9 November. Madurai, Salem and Coimbatore followed. The state-run retailer, whose Tamil name is தமிழ்நாடு மாநில வாணிபக் கழகம் (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation), runs every licensed liquor shop in the state.
The numbers
Five regions, two days
| Tasmac region | Sales, 7 and 8 November 2026 (₹ crore) |
|---|---|
| Tiruchy | 98.97 |
| Chennai | 95.85 |
| Madurai | 88.38 |
| Salem | 87.52 |
| Coimbatore | 70.66 |
| Total | 441.38 |
Source: Tasmac figures released on 9 November 2026. The five regional offices are those listed in the Prohibition and Excise Department’s Policy Note 2024-2025.
Deepavali eve was the bigger day of the two. Monday 9 November was declared a public holiday, and officials projected about ₹192 crore for it; if that holds, the Saturday-to-Monday stretch ends at roughly ₹633.38 crore.
Spread across the 4,829 retail shops the Policy Note counted on 31 March 2024, the two festival days alone come to a little over ₹9 lakh a shop.
Below last year’s three-day run
The calendar keeps changing the comparison. In 2025, Deepavali fell on Monday 20 October, and Tasmac sold ₹789.85 crore from Saturday 18 October to the festival day, with Madurai on top at ₹170.64 crore. This year’s Saturday-to-Monday window is projected at ₹633.38 crore, about ₹156 crore lower, though the festival sat on the Sunday this time rather than the Monday. In 2024, when Deepavali was on a Thursday, two-day sales were put at about ₹438 crore, down from ₹467.63 crore in 2023, and a Tasmac official said then that a weekday festival meant fewer people took leave to travel home.
| Year | Deepavali | Days counted | Sales (₹ crore) | Top region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12 November (Sunday) | Two | 467.63 | Madurai |
| 2024 | 31 October (Thursday) | Two (30-31 October) | About 438 | Chennai |
| 2025 | 20 October (Monday) | Three (18-20 October) | 789.85 | Madurai |
| 2026 | 8 November (Sunday) | Two (7-8 November) | 441.38 | Tiruchy |
Source: figures released by Tasmac officials after each Deepavali. Windows differ from year to year.
₹38 crore in bottle deposits not claimed
Since 1 November, each bottle’s revised MRP carries a ₹10 Environmental and Social Welfare Cess, which the buyer gets back on returning an eligible empty. Festival buyers who took parcels mostly did not bring bottles back. Officials estimated about ₹38 crore of the deposit went unclaimed over the period, and said it cannot be counted as profit because it remains refundable.
How we worked this out
The 2026 regional figures add up to the ₹441.38 crore two-day total. The Monday figure is a projection, not a count. Earlier years use the totals Tasmac officials gave after each festival; the 2024 figure was given as approximate. Shop and region counts come from the Policy Note 2024-2025.
For Context
Liquor money has grown roughly twelvefold in two decades. The Policy Note puts the state’s excise and VAT revenue from liquor at ₹3,639.93 crore in 2003-04, the year Tasmac took over retail sales, and at ₹45,855.67 crore in 2023-24, a figure still subject to reconciliation. The year before, 2022-23, brought in ₹44,121.13 crore.
Checked against official sources on 11 November 2026.
Sources
- Policy Note 2024-2025, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department, Government of Tamil Nadu
- Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), official website
- Tasmac sales figures for 7 and 8 November 2026, released by Tasmac officials, 9 November 2026
