Charged above MRP at TASMAC? Four official ways to report it
The ten or twenty rupees over the printed price is the oldest complaint in Tamil Nadu, and until recently there was nowhere obvious to take it. That changed twice this year: in August the Madras High Court said you may go straight to the police, and on 31 August TASMAC opened a 24×7 helpline for exactly this. Here are the four routes, what each one needs from you, and the one thing the official form will not let you skip.
First: an overcharge is never a grey area
TASMAC prices are not set shop by shop. The MRP is fixed by the state, printed on the label, and identical in all 4,852 outlets — from an Elite shop in Anna Nagar to the smallest counter in a hill taluk. There is no city surcharge, no late-evening rate, no “this brand is in demand” premium. If two shops charge differently for the same bottle, one of them is wrong, and it is the dearer one.
The one legitimate extra is the ₹10 refundable bottle deposit, which you get back when you return the empty. So the arithmetic is simple: MRP, or MRP plus ₹10. Anything else is an overcharge. If you want the full picture of where the money actually goes, we split a ₹140 quarter open in ₹115 of your ₹140 is tax, and the deposit has its own explainer in the TASMAC bottle deposit.
The four routes
| Route | Reach it at | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Toll-free helpline | 1800-889-2015 · 24×7 | Immediate, spoken, no paperwork |
| 2. WhatsApp | 73977 20230 | Sending a photo of the bill there and then |
| 3. Online grievance form | tasmac.tn.gov.in → Grievances | A written, tracked complaint |
| 4. Police complaint | Your local station | When you want it on record as an offence |
TASMAC has also named its official accounts on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube as grievance channels, with complaints from there forwarded to the concerned officials.
Routes 1 and 2: the helpline and WhatsApp
The toll-free line runs around the clock, which matters because overcharging happens at nine in the evening, not during office hours. It went live on 31 August 2026 and was set up specifically to take complaints about overcharging and other irregularities at retail outlets.
WhatsApp is the more useful of the two if you are standing outside the shop, because you can attach the photograph while the bottle is still in your hand. Which brings us to the part most people get wrong.
Route 3: the form — and the photo it will not let you skip
TASMAC’s own grievance page carries a submission form, and it is stricter than people expect. Supporting evidence is a mandatory field — a JPG or PNG of up to 5 MB. No image, no submission. The form also asks for your name and a mobile number verified by OTP, a category, and a description.
The categories it offers are worth knowing, because picking the right one routes the complaint:
An overcharge is a MRP Violation. A counter that took your money and gave you no receipt is Billing & Payment — and it is worth filing both when both happened.
What to photograph, before you walk away
The evidence requirement is the whole game. A complaint that says “they charged me extra at shop 419” is a sentence; a complaint with an image is a case. Two minutes at the counter is what separates them.
| Photograph | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The bill | Shows what you actually paid, and identifies the shop |
| The printed MRP on the label | The price that should have been charged, on the bottle itself |
| The shop number board | Every outlet has one — it is how TASMAC identifies the shop internally |
| The rate list, if displayed | Contradicts the counter in the shop’s own handwriting |
If you don’t know the shop number, our shop number list explains how the numbering works and how to look any outlet up by district.
Route 4: the police, and what the High Court actually said
On 7 August 2026, in G Devarajan v The Principal Secretary and others (WP Crl. No. 1695 of 2026), Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan of the Madras High Court held that a consumer sold liquor above MRP may approach the police directly to register a complaint, and directed the state police to act swiftly on such complaints.
The same order carried directions that change what you can reasonably expect at a counter:
| The court directed | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Bills for every sale, via handheld scanners and electronic printers | “No bill” is not normal, and is itself reportable |
| Queue systems at all shops | The crush at the counter is not meant to be the system |
| Surprise inspections by district managers, with disciplinary action | Complaints have somewhere internal to land |
| Extra police at crowded outlets | Crowd management is a policing responsibility |
| A Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption investigation | The issue is being treated as more than customer service |
By post, if you would rather write
TASMAC’s head office is at CMDA Tower-II, 4th Floor, Gandhi Irwin Bridge Road, Egmore, Chennai 600008. Formal information requests go through the Tamil Nadu RTI portal rather than the grievance form.
What Sarakku is, and is not
We are not a complaint channel, and we cannot forward anything to TASMAC on your behalf. The four routes above are the real ones. What we do is the step before: publish the price so that a wrong one is obvious while you are still at the counter and the bottle is still in your hand.
Every product, every size, at the law-fixed MRP is on the price pages, and the app carries the same list to the shop with you along with what that shop actually has in stock. Knowing the number before you pay it is the difference between a grievance and a shrug.
Common questions
What is the TASMAC complaint number?
1800-889-2015. It is a toll-free line that TASMAC runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it went live on 31 August 2026 specifically to take overcharging complaints. The number is printed in the header of TASMAC’s own website.
Can I complain to TASMAC on WhatsApp?
Yes. TASMAC’s official WhatsApp number is 73977 20230 (+91 7397720230), listed on the grievance page of its own site alongside the toll-free line.
Can I file a police complaint for TASMAC overcharging?
Yes. On 7 August 2026 the Madras High Court held that a consumer sold liquor above MRP may approach the police directly to register a complaint, and directed the state police to act swiftly on such complaints.
What evidence do I need to complain about an MRP violation?
TASMAC’s online grievance form makes supporting evidence mandatory — a JPG or PNG image of up to 5 MB. In practice that means a photo of the bill, or of the bottle showing its printed MRP, together with the shop number. Without an image the form will not submit.
Is the extra ₹10 at the counter an overcharge?
No. ₹10 per bottle is the official refundable bottle deposit, returned when you hand the empty back. Anything charged above MRP plus that ₹10 is not a deposit and not a rounding convention — it is an overcharge.
What if the shop refuses to give me a bill?
That is itself reportable. The Madras High Court directed TASMAC to issue a bill for every sale using handheld scanning devices and electronic printers, so a counter that will not bill you is not following a court direction.
Where is TASMAC’s head office?
CMDA Tower-II, 4th Floor, Gandhi Irwin Bridge Road, Egmore, Chennai 600008.
One number, one photograph, two minutes. The price was never a matter of opinion — now neither is where to say so.