The Imposition Of Excise On MBDK Products Is Right But The Policy Is Right On Target

JAKARTA - Tax observer and Head of Research Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA), Fajry Akbar said that the imposition of excise on packaged sweetened beverage products (MBDK) was appropriate.

"The imposition of excise duty on MBDK products is correct. It remains only to design the policy itself so that it is right on target," he told VOI, Friday, July 26.

In addition, Fajry agreed regarding restrictions on MBDK policies in the community with the presence of several required or essential drink exceptions for the general public such as milk, honey, vegetable juice, or fruit juice without additional sweeteners.

However, Fajry said that there is still a need for a different imposition of tariffs based on the sugar content provided so as to provide space for business actors to innovate with low sugar products or even without sugar at all.

"That way, the economic impact of this policy will be minimal and will not burden the public considering the consumption shift. Even the community will benefit from safe drink choices for their health," he said.

According to Fajry, the imposition of excise on MBDK products that are not collected or free from MBDK excise, such as drinks that are sold and consumed on the spot, for example in food stalls, to traditional shops, is the right thing because raw materials have been subject to excise.

"That's right, those that are sold or consumed in place are excluded because raw materials have been subject to excise duty. Therefore, in the form of concentrate, excise is also subject to excise duty," he explained.