The Bill, called the Tamilnadu Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2014, was introduced by Tamil Nadu's Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise Natham R Viswanathan and it sought to enhance the maximum rate of excise duty in respect of ordinary, medium and premium brands to Rs 250, Rs 300 and Rs 500 respectively per litre.
According to Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, “with a view to augment the revenue of the State, it has been decided to enhance the maximum rate of excise duty leviable on IMFL from Rs 125 to Rs 250 per proof litre in the case of ordinary brands, Rs 300 per proof litre in the case of medium brands and Rs 500 per proof litre in the case of premium brands”.
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To give effect to this, the State government has decided to bring in amendments to Sub-section (1) of Sec 18-B of Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937.
Liquor and alchol sale was one of the key for State's revenue. Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), a company owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu, has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages in Tamil Nadu. It controls the IMFL trade in the state.
TASMAC was established in 1983 by then Chief Minister M G Ramachandran for wholesale vending of alcohol in Tamil Nadu. In 2001, prohibition was lifted again and TASMAC became the wholesale monopoly for alcohol. For retail vending, the state auctioned off licenses for running liquor shops and bar
By 2004 all private outlets selling alcohol were either shut down or taken over by the company. This monopoly established by the AIADMK government of J Jayalalitha came into effect from 2003. The DMK government which took power in 2006, did not revise its predecessor's policy.
TASMAC has had a steady growth in its sales turnover over the years starting at Rs.139.41 Crores in 1983-84
There are 6,800 TASMAC retail vending shops in the State. The provisional revenue from liquor sales through the TASMAC amounted to Rs 21,641 crore during 2013-14, as against Rs 21,680.67 crore in the previous year.
The revenue during 2011-12 amounted to Rs 18,081.16 crore, against Rs 14,965.42 crore in 2010-11.