JAKARTA - Chabibi Syafiuddin, an observer in the micro industry, assessed that handling the alleged misuse of cigarette excise tape in East Java must touch the root of the problem, including the production of illegal cigarettes, which has been considered the main knot of violations in the field.
According to Chabibi, the practice of "raising tax tape" which is being investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission together with the Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis Center shows a structural system distortion, not just a normal administrative violation.
"If the tax tape can circulate not according to production capacity, it means that there is a systemic game. This is not a small mistake, but a structured pattern," Chabibi said in his statement, Saturday, April 11.
He emphasized that the KPK's step of uncovering the flow of funds and the tax management mechanism was right because it targeted the upstream side of the problem. However, according to him, law enforcement should not stop there.
Chabibi instead highlighted the role of the Indonesian National Police, which was considered to have not shown firmness in cracking down on the production of illegal cigarettes in the field.
"Illegal cigarettes are physical goods. The factory is there, the route is clear. If this is not touched, the public has the right to suspect that something is wrong," he said.
He emphasized that the current conditions do not give room for the police to move slowly, especially when the map of the problem has begun to be opened by the KPK.
"KPK has opened the map. If the National Police is still lagging behind, it is not a technical matter anymore, but a matter of will," he said.
Furthermore, Chabibi reminded that allowing illegal production to continue will only strengthen the network of organized economic crime.
"If the upstream is dismantled but the downstream is left, then this is only half of law enforcement," he said.
He also assessed that the plan to inspect hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises in Madura had the potential to be ineffective if it was not accompanied by firm steps against illegal production.
"Don't let the enforcement target the small ones, while illegal production that is clearly in violation is left alone. That is unfair and does not solve the problem," said Chabibi.
Therefore, he encouraged law enforcement officers to move simultaneously, dismantle the flow of funds and close the illegal production line so that law enforcement really touches the root of the problem.
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