📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Michael Gäbler
Business
Tamil Nadu to Digitise Liquor Supply Chain with Handheld Devices and OTP Login from Sep 1
✍️ DT Next
🗓 28 Aug 2026, 04:04 PM
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From September 1, Tamil Nadu will require all licensed liquor retailers to use handheld devices and OTP‑based login to record stock movements, a step aimed at curbing illicit trade and improving tax transparency.
The Tamil Nadu government announced that, effective 1 September, every licensed liquor retailer must adopt handheld electronic devices to log stock transactions and authenticate their entries with a one‑time password (OTP) sent by the state excise department.
The initiative forms part of a wider digitisation drive intended to curb illicit diversion, boost transparency and ensure accurate collection of excise duties. Each device will capture details of every batch received, sold or returned, transmitting the information in real time to a central database overseen by the excise authority.
Retailers who fail to implement the system or submit erroneous data will face penalties, officials said. The excise department will organise training sessions and supply the handheld units to licensed shops at no cost.
The move mirrors similar digital reforms in sectors such as the e‑way bill system for goods transport, underscoring the state’s push to harness technology for better governance.
The initiative forms part of a wider digitisation drive intended to curb illicit diversion, boost transparency and ensure accurate collection of excise duties. Each device will capture details of every batch received, sold or returned, transmitting the information in real time to a central database overseen by the excise authority.
Retailers who fail to implement the system or submit erroneous data will face penalties, officials said. The excise department will organise training sessions and supply the handheld units to licensed shops at no cost.
The move mirrors similar digital reforms in sectors such as the e‑way bill system for goods transport, underscoring the state’s push to harness technology for better governance.