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Indonesia sees higher cigarette excises from April

JAKARTA: Indonesia's director general of customs and excise said on Thursday the government saw the need to raise cigarette excises and to levy excises on cement, soft drinks and tyres from April 1.

"The moves are aimed at reducing the government's dependence on foreign loans," Permana Agung told reporters.

"The customs and excise office is studying a proposal in which cigarette excise taxes would be raised to help meet budget targets on excise revenues," Agung said, adding cigarette excises were a major contributor to the excise revenues.

"It will be effective from April 1," Agung said The government targetted 9.27 trillion rupiah in excise revenues in the April-December budget, or up 22.3 percent compared with targetted excise revenues in fiscal year 1999/2000 (April-March).

The latest budget covers a truncated period as the government realigns its fiscal year with the calendar year.

Agung said his office was also considering changing the cigarette excise scheme so that the taxes would no longer be based on banderol retail prices.-Reuters