TASMAC on New Year 2027: open or closed, timings and what New Year's Eve sells
New Year is not a dry day. TASMAC shops open at 12 noon on Thursday 31 December 2026 and again on Friday 1 January 2027, and close at 10 pm on both. Here is the answer, what the police do on New Year's Eve, and the New Year sales figures that have actually been reported.
Is TASMAC open on 31 December and 1 January?
Yes, both days. The state's retail rules name the days a shop must stay shut: Thiruvalluvar Day, Gandhi Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Milad-un-Nabi and Vallalar Memorial Day, plus any day the government or a Collector orders. Republic Day, May Day and Independence Day are closed every year as well. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are on neither list, and no closure had been announced for either when this was written.
The state's closure notice for January 2026 named 16 January, 26 January and 1 February, nothing earlier. The full calendar is on our dry days page.
Timings on New Year's Eve
A TASMAC shop sells from 12 noon to 10 pm, on 31 December as on any other day. We found no report of shop hours being extended for New Year, and nothing has been announced for 31 December 2026.
| Licence | What it is | Closes |
|---|---|---|
| FL1 | TASMAC shops, ordinary and Elite | 10 pm |
| FL3 | Hotel and club bars | Midnight |
What changes is the policing. On 31 December 2025 the Tamil Nadu Police allowed celebrations only till 1 am, and Chennai's beaches were shut from the evening. The 1 am limit is for the party, not the bar: in 2018 hotels were told to wind up by 1 am and to keep to their licence hours when serving liquor.
The checks are for drink-driving and racing. If you are drinking, do not drive.
New Year sales: what has been reported
A one-day figure for 31 December was reported three years running. Since then the only number is a two-day total that TASMAC did not release itself.
| New Year | Days covered | Sales | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Tue 31 Dec 2019 | ₹150 cr | Reported |
| 2021 | Thu 31 Dec 2020 | ₹159 cr | Reported, TASMAC data |
| 2022 | Fri 31 Dec 2021 | ₹147.69 cr | Reported |
| 2025 | Tue 31 Dec 2024 + Wed 1 Jan 2025 | about ₹430 cr | Press estimate; not released |
The 31 December 2020 total came with a break-up: Chennai ₹48.75 crore, Coimbatore ₹28.40 crore, Tiruchirappalli ₹28.10 crore, Madurai ₹27.30 crore and Salem ₹26.49 crore. The 2025 report puts an ordinary day at about ₹150 crore, a weekend day at ₹200 crore and a festival day at ₹250 crore.
What is missing. We found no reported figure for New Year 2024 or New Year 2026. One number is left out on purpose: ₹1,000 crore for 31 December 2022 and 1 January 2023, in the same Asianet News report. It counts bars, clubs and resorts with the shops, names no source, and its ₹610 crore for the eve is four times the year before.
The yardstick: an ordinary day in our counts
Our counts begin in August 2026, so we have no New Year data of our own. What we have is the base to read the reported figures against.
The two biggest days we have counted both sit next to a dry day: 16 August, the day after Independence Day, and 1 October, the eve of Gandhi Jayanti.
About ₹430 crore over two days is ₹215 crore a day: roughly one and a half times our September average, and a little above the biggest days we have seen. The comparison is rough: a 2025 press estimate against our own 2026 estimate. This year the eve is a Thursday, which in September ran below the month's average. We are not going to forecast 31 December 2026.
After New Year: the next dry days
Thiruvalluvar Day, in mid-January, comes first. It is in the rules and it was 16 January in 2026; the state's notice fixes the 2027 date. Republic Day, Tuesday 26 January 2027, is fixed. January's larger sales figure is usually Pongal, not New Year: Bhogi and Pongal day together were reported at ₹454.11 crore in 2025 and ₹518 crore in 2026.
Before you go
Check the shelf first. Live stock on the site, shop by shop in the app, and the nearest shops by district and taluk.
Know the price. One MRP for the whole state: the full price list. For a premium bottle, try the Elite shops.
Expect ₹10 over MRP. From October 2026 each bottle carries a ₹10 deposit, paid back on return. Anything above that is overcharging: how to report it.
Before New Year comes Deepavali: TASMAC on Diwali 2026.
Common questions
Is TASMAC open on 31 December?
Yes. New Year's Eve is not a dry day in Tamil Nadu. On Thursday 31 December 2026 shops keep their ordinary hours, 12 noon to 10 pm.
Is TASMAC open on 1 January, New Year's Day?
Yes. Friday 1 January 2027 is not a dry day and no closure has been announced. Shops open at 12 noon and close at 10 pm.
What time does TASMAC close on New Year's Eve?
10 pm, as on any other night. We found no report of shop hours being extended for New Year, and nothing has been announced for 31 December 2026.
Are bars open after midnight on New Year's Eve?
Hotel and club bars (FL3) run to midnight under the usual rules. On 31 December 2025 police allowed celebrations only till 1 am.
How much does TASMAC sell on New Year?
Reported sales for 31 December: ₹150 crore in 2019, ₹159 crore in 2020, ₹147.69 crore in 2021. For 31 December 2024 and 1 January 2025 together, reports put it at about ₹430 crore; no official figure was released.
When is the next TASMAC dry day after New Year?
Thiruvalluvar Day in mid-January is usually the first; it was 16 January in 2026. The next fixed one is Republic Day, Tuesday 26 January 2027.
Open at noon, shut at ten, on the last day of the year and the first. Look at the shelf before you leave home.