The Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Direktorat Jenderal Bea dan Cukai or DJBC) is reviewing a number of products to potentially become excise objects, such as houses, tissues, detergents, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and concert tickets.
The Director of Technical and Facilities (DJBC) of the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, Iyan Rubianto, said that the already existing excise objects whose status is also currently under review include but are not limited to, plastic, fuel oil, packaged processed sodium food products, and packaged sugary drinks. On top of that, DJBC is also reviewing the possible replacement of sales tax on motor vehicles as luxury goods (Pajak Penjualan atas Barang Mewah or PPnBM) with excise tax instead.
“Our PPnBM is shifting. If an excise tax is imposed, the proceeds from the excise tax can be used to fund public transportation,” Rubianto said during the Public Lecture “Exploring the Potential of Excise” on Tuesday, the 23rd of July.
Rubianto also conveyed a number of goods that are still currently under DJBC’s pre-assessment to be potentially redefined as excise objects. Some of these goods include but are not limited to, houses, tickets to music concerts, fast food, tissues, gadgets, monosodium glutamate (MSG), coal, and detergents.
“We have proposed houses, but the issue is which kinds of houses? Luxurious houses, the houses that are often flaunted, and the houses priced above Rp2 billion. The Tompi issue caused quite a stir the other day,” he added, referring to an incident during which Indonesian YouTuber Atta Halilintar made content about Indonesian singer Tompi and his house, with Halilintar implying that Tompi’s house was worth Rp150 billion. This resulted in Tompi being visited by an officer from DJBC afterwards.
Meanwhile, the Director of Communications and Guidance for Customs Service Users, Nirwala Dwi Heriyanto, said that the list of objects included in the excise extensification pre-study policy is still a proposal from various parties. This means that it has not yet entered the study stage.
Heriyanto further explained that the criteria for goods to be properly subjected to excise duty are: (i) The goods whose consumption properties or characteristics need to be controlled; (ii) The goods whose circulation needs to be monitored; (iii) The goods whose usage can have a negative impact on society or the environment; and (iv) The goods whose usage requires the imposition of state levies for the sake of justice and balance.
“The process starts from submitting the excise extensification plan to the House of Representatives [Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR], determining revenue targets in the government budget plan [Rancangan Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Negara or RAPBN] together with DPR, and drafting government regulations as the legal umbrella for regulating the extensification,” Heriyanto told the press on Wednesday afternoon, the 24th of July.