Vapeboss – The Indonesian government has officially decided to increase excise duties for other processed tobacco products (HPTL) such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, etc., by 15% starting in 2023 for the next five years.

Chairman of the Indonesian Electronic Nicotine Delivery System Entrepreneurs Alliance (APPNINDO), Teguh Basuki Ari Wibowo, stated that the decision to increase excise duties on e-cigarette products was too burdensome for businesses. This is because the e-cigarette industry is still developing, and the majority of its business actors are MSMEs.

"We believe that a 15% increase in excise duty for e-cigarettes annually for the next five years will be very difficult for the developing domestic e-cigarette industry, which is mostly MSME scale," said Teguh.

Teguh hopes that the government can provide relaxation to the relatively new e-cigarette industry by not increasing excise duties next year.

"We desperately need support and protection from the government, considering that we are all currently in a state of economic recovery post-pandemic," he said.

He also conveyed that in 2023, there is a potential for economic recession, which poses a threat to the e-cigarette industry.

"Next year there may be many threats; we are talking about the potential for a global recession, but Indonesia should be very strong economically, because our economic foundation is MSMEs," he concluded.

Source: Detik