Indonesia's Single Cigarette Sales Ban: Health Ministry, Customs Welcome New Regulation

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently inked Government Regulation Number 28 of 2024 concerning health, which included the single cigarette sales ban.  

The regulation, consisting of 1172 articles, was inked and promulgated on the same date on July 26, 2024.

The single cigarette ban was stipulated under Article 434 (1) c, which stated that everyone is prohibited from selling tobacco products in retail units per stick, except for cigars and electronic cigarettes.

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the new regulation is a step toward health transformation to achieve a strong, independent, and inclusive Indonesian health architecture.

"We welcome the issuance of this regulation, which is our basis to reform and establish the health system across the state together,” he said on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, as quoted by Antara.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise also responded to the new health regulation. Director of Communication and User Guidance Nirwala Dwi Heriyanto said the single cigarette sales ban would not affect state revenue.

"Non-fiscal restrictions, such as a ban on single sale will not reduce state revenue,” Nirwala said on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara.  

Excise revenue from cigarettes is collected at the factory level, Nirwala said. "There are three levies on one box of cigarettes, namely cigarette excise, value added tax on the transfer of tobacco products, and cigarette tax, which total 68 percent. So, if for example, one box of cigarettes costs Rp10,000, the state levy is Rp6,800," the director added. 

Nirwala said the non-fiscal restriction policy is intended to crack down on smoking prevalence rather than an economic strategy. Through this provision, the state hopes to stamp people’s desire to purchase cigarettes due to their price. Additionally, the ban is expected to facilitate the government’s supervision of cigarette sales. 

For information, tobacco excise revenue in the first half of 2024 amounted to Rp97.84 trillion, contracting by 4.4 percent. The slowdown in tobacco excise revenue was influenced by excise payment delay relaxation. 

The regulation extends the payment delay from 60 to 90 days, so some of the May 2024 revenue shifted to June 2024. In addition, the revenue slowdown is also attributed to the downtrading to cheaper cigarettes.

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