Indonesian Customs Official Discusses Tax Policy for E-Cigarette Imports

Oct.20.2022
Indonesian Customs Official Discusses Tax Policy for E-Cigarette Imports
Indonesian customs director discussed import regulations and taxes on vaping products at IECIE Indonesia e-cigarette expo.

On October 20th, the IECIE Indonesia vape expo was held at the Jakarta International Expo Center. During the event, Mr. Nirwala, Director of the Compliance Department of the Indonesian Customs Office, gave a keynote speech on "Indonesia's Customs Clearance and Taxation Policies for Imported E-cigarettes" to stakeholders and attendees.


The speech given by Mr. Nirwala at the event.


Mr. Nirwala stated that since 2017 to 2021, Indonesia has been imposing a 57% tariff on e-cigarette products. However, this year they have switched to unit-based taxation, with a tariff of 2.71 Indonesian rupiahs per gram of solid tobacco products, 445 Indonesian rupiahs per milliliter for open-system e-liquids, and 6030 Indonesian rupiahs per milliliter for closed-system e-liquids.


In contrast, other tobacco products are subject to varying degrees of tariff, for example, chewing tobacco or tobacco candies are subject to a tariff of 120 Indonesian rupiahs per gram. In addition, from 2022 onwards, all tobacco products have seen an increase in their minimum retail price, ranging from different levels compared to previous years. For instance, the retail price of solid tobacco products has increased from 1.35 Indonesian rupiahs to 5.19, while the minimum retail price of e-cigarettes has increased from 666 Indonesian rupiahs per milliliter to 785.


In terms of tax revenue, as of September, the 2022 electronic cigarette tariff income was 774.04 billion Indonesian Rupiah, an increase of 530% from 98.87 billion in 2018. It is expected that the annual electronic cigarette tariff income in 2022 will exceed 1 trillion Indonesian Rupiah. Currently, tariff revenue accounts for 0.5% of the total national tobacco tax revenue.


In terms of law enforcement, Mr. Nirwala emphasized that in 2020, the Indonesian customs primarily seized and detained heated non-burning electronic cigarette products, totaling 27,420 items. Afterwards, the customs saw a sharp increase in the number of seized pods, reaching 13,393 in 2021 and 22,949 so far this year.


For more information about the IECIE Jakarta Vape Expo, please click on the image below to be redirected.


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