Good News From Customs: The IDR 152 Billion Cigarette Excise Money Will Be Used To Build Lung Hospital In Karawang

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Customs and Excise through Purwakarta Customs in collaboration with the Regional Government of Karawang Regency has realized the utilization of tobacco excise revenue-sharing funds (DBHCHT) in the form of the construction of the Karawang Lung Hospital.

Director of International Customs and Inter-Agency Customs and Excise, Syarif Hidayat, said that the hospital was the first hospital built by the Regional Government of Karawang Regency using DBHCHT which had started operating in March 2020 and was awarded a Class C hospital with a maximum capacity of 66 patients.

"This hospital was built using DBHCHT worth IDR 152.6 billion, and has accommodated thousands of patients including those affected by COVID-19 since it was built in March 2020", said Syarif in his official statement, quoted from Antara, Monday, June 27.

Based on Minister of Finance Regulation Number 206/PMK.07/2020 that DBHCHT is part of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) to regions based on a certain percentage of state revenue to fund regional needs in the context of implementing decentralization. The said DBHCHT is transferred to an excise-producing area and/or a tobacco producer.

The realization of DBHCHT is budgeted with a distribution of 50 percent for the community welfare sector, 25 percent for law enforcement, and 25 percent for the health sector, one of which is the provision of health facilities/infrastructure.

"One of the DBHCHT allocations for health facilities also includes the construction of new facilities/infrastructure such as the hospital in Karawang which has been realized", said Syarif.

Syarif also said that the success of Customs and Excise in realizing the DBHCHT was the result of hard work and synergy with the regional government in collecting state revenues, especially from the excise sector to support the APBN whose purpose was to return to the wider community.

"Customs together with the government continue to try to collect the coffers of revenue for the State Budget, one of which is through excise so that it can be allocated to the needs of the community", added Syarif.

In more detail, he explained that the total DBHCHT for the period 2021 in the West Java region had reached IDR 401.6 billion. As for the Karawang Regency itself, the amount of DBHCHT in 2021 is IDR 96.9 billion.

"This fund is the result of state revenues from excise and cigarette taxes that have been collected by Customs in the West Java region", he said.

The amount of excise income until mid-2021 in the Purwakarta Customs work area which has been collected is IDR 11.82 trillion and cigarette tax is IDR 1.23 trillion. Meanwhile, in 2020, excise income was collected at IDR 28.19 trillion and cigarette taxes to IDR 2.94 trillion.

"Of course, the existence of this hospital is very beneficial for the surrounding community in the health sector, and we hope that the realization of DBHCHT in the future will continue with the right allocation of targets", he added.