Vapeboss – The Indonesian government has officially increased the excise tax on e-cigarettes and other tobacco processing products (HPTL) by 15%. This excise tax increase will last for the next five years and will be effective starting in 2023.

"Today, it was also decided to increase the excise duty on electronic cigarettes by an average of 15% for e-cigarettes and 6% for HPTL. This will apply, increasing by 15% every year, for the next 5 years," said Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.

The decision to increase the excise tax was the result of an agreement from a closed limited meeting held with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Thursday (3/11/2022).

In addition to the increase in Tobacco Products Excise (CHT) or cigarettes, the increase in HPTL excise tax is a direct order from President Jokowi. In setting the CHT, Sri Mulyani said that the government formulates excise instruments by considering several aspects, ranging from agricultural labor to the cigarette industry.

In addition, the government also pays attention to the target of reducing the prevalence of smoking in children aged 10-18 years to 8.7%, as stated in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RJPMN) 2020-2024.

Furthermore, Sri Mulyani mentioned that the government also considers cigarette consumption, which is the second-largest household consumption after rice. In fact, this consumption exceeds protein consumption such as eggs and chicken. This is because the percentage of cigarette consumption in poor urban households reaches 12.21% and 11.63% for rural communities.

"This is the second highest after rice, even exceeding the consumption of protein such as eggs and chicken, as well as tofu and tempeh, which are staple foods needed by the community," added Sri Mulyani.

Source: Kontan