TEMPO.CO, Karanganyar - The production and distribution of illegal cigarette in Central Java this year is estimated to cost the country, especially in the tax revenue, of up to Rp7 billion.
Central Java Customs and Excise Department official in Yogyakarta, Mathias Buluama stated that the case of illegal cigarette in the province is huge compared to other provinces. “This year we found 20 cases,” Mathias said Friday, September 30, 2016.
The biggest case was on June 2016. The office found a large truck that was full with cigarettes that were ready to to be sold without excise.”Those cigarettes were going to be shipped to Sumatra,” Mathias said.
The latest case was discovered early this week. Customs and Excise officials discovered an illegal cigarette factory in Klaten. The factory had the capacity to produce up to 1,800 cigarettes a day.
Other than confiscating a cigarette production machine, the officials also confiscated 410,600 pieces of cigarettes. “Those cigarettes were still in pieces,” Mathias said. It was planned to be sent to Jepara for packaging and distribution.
He explained that the production and distribution of the fake cigarettes allegedly involve a syndicate that make it hard to reveal the issue. “There are people who produce, package, and sell them.”
The 20 cases have caused an excise state loss of up to Rp7 billion.
Chief of the Control and Service Office of Customs and Excise Surakarta, Kunto Prasti Trenggono says that the Klaten case was revealed after three-month operation. “We received information about a truck that carried a cigarette maker machine,” Mathias said.
AHMAD RAFIQ
