Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 17 (IANS): Liquor prices in Kerala were hiked from Saturday after the state cabinet approved a 4 per cent increase in the general sales tax, which came into effect after state Governor Arif Mohammed Khan gave his assent to pass the Kerala General Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill.

As a result of the increase, the price of brands of various Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brands has gone up by Rs 10 to Rs 20, while the price of wine and beer has been raised by 2 per cent.

The IMFL manufacturers have been urging the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) -- the sole wholesaler of liquor in Kerala -- to increase the prices in the wake of steep rates of extra neutral alcohol.

The data in the past seven years shows that while in 2015-16 the total sales of KSBC was Rs 11,577 crore, it reached Rs 14,707 crore in 2019-20 but decreased to Rs 13,212 crore in the next fiscal when the state was reeling under Covid-19 pandemic.

However, in 2021-22 the total sales of KSBC again rose to Rs 14,576 crore and according to the data for the first six months in the present fiscal, it has touched Rs 8,460 crore.