Observers Of The Value Of Excise Application In Sweetened Drinks Is Right

Illustration - Packaging sweetened drinks (MBDK). (Photo: Doc. Antara)

Tax Observer from the Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) Fajry Akbar assesses that the application of packaged sweetened beverage excise (MBDK) needs to be carried out.

"Of course we need to extensify excisable goods. Given the number of excisable goods (BKC) in Indonesia which is still minimal compared to neighboring countries," he told VOI, Wednesday, July 10.

Currently, he said, there are only three BKCs, while there are dozens of countries in ASEAN.

On the other hand, the tobacco products industry continues to decline, so there is a risk of a budget if it depends on cigarette excise revenue.

Therefore, Cita said, one of the potential BKCs that can be executed is packaged sweetened drinks (MBDK), considering that the characteristics of the MBDK are in accordance with the characteristics of the BKC in Article 2 paragraph 1 of the Excise Law.

"Use benchmarking with neighboring countries, but it is adjusted to per capita income. We can use the relative income price or RIP measure," he said.

He added, if the excise tariff is set at Rp. 1,771 per liter, then the value is not much different from that of neighboring countries.

"For the beginning of the implementation, let it run administratively properly first. Although it will have an impact on control and smaller acceptance than it should be," he said.

For your information, based on data from the Global Food Research Program, as of early 2022, there have been around 55 countries that have implemented sweetened beverage excise.

In the Southeast Asian region, the excise tax has only been enforced by Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

In general, the highest excise rate is set by Brunei, amounting to 0.4 Brunei Dollars per liter (around IDR 4.688 per liter).

Then the excise tariff for sweetened drinks in the Philippines ranges from Rp1,800 to Rp3,600 per liter, Thailand Rp2,200 per liter, and Malaysia Rp1,500 per liter.