Interestingly, while Pepsi announced the price cut on specifically chosen packs across its brands, Coke announced an across-the-board reduction in prices of all its brands, including Maaza with immediate effect.

``The reduction in the prices of Coca-Cola India products varies from seven per cent to 10 per cent, which is much higher than the effective rate of excise relief given to the industry,'' Mr Sanjiv Gupta, senior vice-president of Coca-Cola India said here in a statement.

It may be recalled that alongside the excise duty concession - by reducing the special excise duty (SED) to 16 per cent from the present 24 per cent, the industry will now bear a total excise duty of 32 per cent -- the Budget also announced reduction in abatement of the maximum retail price of soft drinks from the current 55 per cent to 50 per cent. The reduction in abatement has affected the industry adversely.

As pointed out by Mr PM Sinha, chairman, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd, ``Bringing excise duty on aerated drinks in line with the similar industries is a step in right direction and we welcome it. However, the reduction of abatement for the industry has been done without consulting the industry. The facts do not justify lowering abatement.''

"The net impact has been a reduction of approximately two per cent. This creates problem of coinage in passing the benefit to the consumer across all packs. We have, therefore, decided to pass on the excise reduction in some other packs,'' Mr Sinha reasoned.

Among its large packs, while Pepsi has announced a price cut of Re 1 on its 2 litre and 1.5 litre pack, taking it from the earlier Rs 50 to Rs 49 and from Rs 43 to Rs 42 respectively, The company has also reduced the litre pack from Rs 22 to Rs 20, and the 200ml pack from Rs 7.50 to Rs 7.

Coke has also reduced the price of its 1 litre pack from Rs 22 to Rs 20 and the 200-ml pack size from Rs 7.50 to Rs 7.

In the juice drink segment, Pepsi has brought down the price of its juice drink Slice and Mangola in 250ml from Rs 10 to Rs 9.50, while Coke said that the drop in the price of its brand Maaza would be marginal.

The industry, bogged down with accumulated losses of Rs 800 crore, had sought removal of 24 per cent SED on carbonated soft drinks and asked for recategorisation in the Budget inline with other food products. Hitherto, carbonated soft drinks were attracting an excise duty of 40 per cent (of which 16 per cent was in the form of the basic rate, while 24 per cent was as special excise duty) of the maximum retail price with 55 per cent abatement.