Indonesia Increases Excise on Tobacco Products by 2022

Jakarta, MINA – Indonesian government increases th excise duty on tobacco products (CHT) with an average increase of 12 percent for 2022, with an increase for hand-rolled kretek cigarettes of a maximum of 4.5 percent.

In addition, Indonesia has implemented a policy of simplifying the tariff structure into 8 layers (simplification of Groups IIA and IIB types of SKM and SPM), and optimizing the CHT Revenue Sharing Fund (DBH) policy as a cushion for the CHT policy. This was stated by the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani in a statement quoted by MINA on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the adjustment of excise tariffs and the minimum limit for HJE types of Electric Cigarettes (RE) and Other Tobacco Processing Products (HPTL) is 17.5%, with specific excise rates.

According to Sri Mulyani, the increase in cigarette excise rates is aimed at controlling cigarette consumption, especially among children and adolescents.

The increase does not only consider health issues, but also pays attention to the protection of workers, farmers, and the cigarette industry.

“Realizing that treatment is generally more expensive, one of the government’s preventive measures is intervention to reduce cigarette consumption, which is currently worrying. According to the 2018 Basic Health Research, 9 out of 100 children in Indonesia still smoke. This number is among the highest in the Asian Region,” said Sri Mulyani.

The state treasurer explained that the 12 percent increase in excise on tobacco products was carried out to achieve the target of reducing the prevalence of children aged 10-18 years to 8.83 percent from the 8.7 percent target in the RPJMN in 2024. The increase in excise taxes contributed to a decrease in access to cigarette purchases for children. early age.

Various researches and studies have proven the various losses that arise due to the high consumption of cigarettes. In addition to being the second largest risk factor for death in Indonesia according to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in 2019, cigarette consumption also increases the risk of stunting and exacerbates the health impact of Covid-19. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)