BENGALURU, April 27 -- Karnataka's proposed shift to an Alcohol-in-Beverage (AIB) taxation system has triggered competing responses from industry bodies, with a broad consensus emerging that while the reform marks a structural shift, its impact across liquor categories could be uneven.

The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) cautioned that the framework risks disproportionately affecting high-volume, lower-priced Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) segments if not carefully balanced. The Confederation's director general Anant S Iyer said, "It is equally important that the policy is not perceived as favouring any particular category, including beer, as currently proposed."

He described the AIB system as a reform-or...