The Ministry Of Health Ensures That The Excise Regulation Of Sweetened Drinks Is Ratified In 2024

Deputy Minister of Health (Wamenkes) of the Republic of Indonesia Dante Saksono Harbuwono when met in Jakarta, Monday 29 January 2024. (ANTARA-Sean Muhamad)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) of the Republic of Indonesia ensures that regulations related to the excise duty on Packaging Contained Drinks (MBDK) will be ratified this year. "(The MBDK excise rules) have reached the final stage, it's just a matter of socialization, it's just a matter of later implementation," said Deputy Minister of Health (Wamenkes) of the Republic of Indonesia Dante Saksono Harbuwono when met in Jakarta, Monday, January 29, confiscated by Antara. The Deputy Minister of Health explained that the regulation is currently being socialized and coordinated with relevant stakeholders, one of which is together with the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) regarding the amount of excise to be applied.

"We will execute this as soon as possible, there are no real obstacles, ratified this year, it has been submitted. It will be ratified immediately when it has been signed, because we have made an academic study," he said.

As for the types of drinks subject to excise duty, he explained that this would be different in accordance with the categories, processing methods, as well as the existing sugar content. "We will determine which drinks and food are different, we will determine later," he said.

Dante mengungkapkan, penerapan kebijakan cukai pada MBDK diterapkan, karena saat ini minuman jenis tersebut menjadi salah satu faktor risiko dari banyaknya penyakit tidak menular yang terjadi di masyarakat.

"If the number of Riskesdas (Basic Health Research) in the previous ten years, the diabetes rate has doubled from ten percent," he said. The figure is followed by 95.5 percent of Indonesians consume less fruit and vegetables, as well as 35.5 percent of people who do less physical activity. "If the food is not evaluated properly, one of them is by implementing higher excise, then the Indonesian people will face future problems that will be higher in terms of death," he said.