Semarang Customs Destroys 2.2 Million Illegal Cigarettes

Semarang Mayor Hevearita Gunaryanti Rahayu together with Head of the Customs and Excise Supervision and Service Office of Type Customs A Semarang Bier Budy Kismulyanto/ANTARA/Zuhdiar Laiis)

Semarang Customs and Excise together with local law enforcement officials carried out the destruction of 2,259,752 illegal cigarettes and 14,113 grams of illegal slash tobacco at Semarang City Hall, Central Java.

The destruction of illegal slices of cigarettes and tobacco is a series of work programs for Tobacco Products Excise Sharing Funds (DBHCHT) organized by the Semarang City Government.

Head of the Customs and Excise Supervision and Service Office Type Customs A Semarang Bier Budy Kismulyanto hopes that other local governments can organize similar activities.

"The goods that were destroyed were the result of prosecution during 2022 to 2023 by the Semarang Customs and Excise, local governments, and other legal forces through joint market operations financed by DBHCHT," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, September 12.

Joint market operations have been carried out 32 times since early 2023, covering the districts of Demak, Grobogan, Kendal, Semarang, Salatiga, and Semarang.

He said that overall the destroyed goods were estimated to be around Rp2,699,379,495 with a potential state loss that was saved of Rp1,929,643,083.

For prosecution, he said, Semarang Customs since early 2023 until now has taken 129 prosecutions with the confiscated results in the form of 14,356,565 illegal cigarettes.

Bier hopes that the entire community will play an active role by providing any information that is very useful for eradicating crime in the field of customs and excise.

Dengan penindakan dan pemusnahkan rokok dan tembakau salis ilegal tersebut, kata dia, diharapkan juga dapat memberikan efek jera bagi pihak-pihak yang berusaha melakukan perdagangan pidang ilegal.

"Customs will continue to improve the surveillance and enforcement system to create a safe and prosperous environment for the people of Indonesia," he added.

Meanwhile, Semarang Mayor Hevearita Gunaryanti Rahayu said that illegal cigarette trading resulted in a large potential state loss for not paying taxes.

"I think (package) is neat, yes, but there is no excise duty. This is illegal, detrimental to the state because the excise proceeds from this cigarette are in the form of taxes that will be returned to the community as well," said Ita, her nickname.

For the city of Semarang, he said, DBHCHT is also given for the welfare of cigarette workers whose value is Rp. 400 thousand per month from DBHCHT and there are around 1,500 workers who get the funds.

"Taxes are not for the government, but are returned to the community. Like yesterday, DBHCHT was for health, education, and other activities," he said.