Pertamina Asks For Support From Commission VII Of The DPR Regarding Alcohol Excise On Bioethenol

Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT Pertamina (Persero) will expand sales of fuel produced from a mixture of bioethanol. In Indonesia, the procurement of bioethanol is still subject to customs duties by the Ministry of Finance.

It is known, based on Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) Number 158/PMK.010/2018, the excise rate imposed on Ethyl Alcohol of all types of any grade is IDR 20,000 per liter for both domestic and imported production.

For this reason, Pertamina asked for the support of Commission VII to free Pertamina from the excise duty.

"We don't think about profit yet because there is an application of customs duty of IDR 20,000 because it is still considered part of alcohol and is subject to excise duty of IDR 20,000," said Nicke in a hearing with Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), Wednesday, August 30.

Nicke reasoned that the existing bioethanol would be used as a fuel mixture and not used as an ingredient in alcoholic beverages.

"Because it is not used for alcohol but for energy, of course we ask for support from Commission VII to get excise exemption so that we can encourage it because the benefits are great," said Nicke.

Nicke continued, this regulation is in line with the mandatory which started in 2015 with 2 percent ethanol or E2 and increased in 2016 to E5, and E20 in 2020 and increased to E20 in 2025.

Not only that, Pertamina also launched the Blue Sky program 2 years ago by increasing subsidized fuel from RON 88 to RON 90.

"We are continuing according to plan, namely the second phase of the Blue Sky program where we increase the fuel subsidy from RON 90 to RON 92," explained Nicke.

This is also related to the regulations of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) which states that the octane value that can be sold in Indonesia is a minimum of 91.

Nicke believes that this program is very appropriate to reintroduce in Indonesia because from an environmental perspective it can reduce carbon emissions, secondly, the bioethanol program is being implemented more massively and thirdly it can reduce gasoline imports which have been carried out by Indonesia.