Bengaluru, May 12 -- The Government of Karnataka has officially implemented its much-discussed new excise policy from May 11, replacing the decades-old liquor taxation system with a new alcohol-content-based taxation model. With this move, Karnataka has become the first state in India to introduce an excise structure that levies tax based on the percentage of alcohol content in liquor products.

However, the new policy is expected to significantly increase the prices of low-cost liquor consumed by common people, while reducing prices of premium and imported liquor brands.

Under the revised system, the government has reduced the number of excise tax slabs from 16 to eight. According to industry estimates, prices of budget whisky, rum, bra...