Cigarette Excise Revenue Reaches IDR 121.9 Trillion, Grows by 9.6%
JAKARTA. Revenue from tobacco excise (CHT) as of July 2025 reached IDR 121.98 trillion, up 9.6% compared to the same period last year, which was IDR 111.23 trillion. This surge is not solely due to an increase in cigarette consumption but is also influenced by technical aspects of tax policy.
The Director of Communication and Service User Guidance at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Nirwala Dwi Heryanto, explained that this year’s revenue increase is largely affected by the deferred payment policy for excise stamps that was in effect throughout 2024.
Under this policy, excise stamp orders made between March 1 and October 31, 2024, were granted an extended payment deadline from 60 days to 90 days. The aim was to support cash flow in the tobacco industry. However, the consequence was that some of the excise revenue that should have been recorded in 2024 was pushed into the following year.
“In 2025, the rules returned to normal, and payment is due within 60 days. So, revenue realization appears faster compared to last year,” said Nirwala on Wednesday (20/8), as quoted by bisnis.com.
In other words, this year’s revenue growth does not fully reflect real consumption, but also the technical impact of administrative policies.
Cigarettes Remain the Largest Contributor
In total, excise revenue for the January–July 2025 period reached IDR 126.85 trillion, or 51.95% of the state budget (APBN) target of IDR 244.2 trillion. Of that amount, 96.1% came from tobacco excise, while the remainder came from alcoholic beverage excise (IDR 10.19 trillion) and ethyl alcohol (IDR 0.12 trillion).
Despite the growth in excise revenue, challenges are mounting. Former Director General of Customs and Excise, Askolani, during a hearing with Commission XI of the DPR on May 7, 2025, warned that revenues could decline due to two main factors:
- No excise tariff increase in 2025.
- A trend of downtrading, where consumers shift to cheaper cigarette brands.
Data from the Ministry of Finance shows that in Q1 2025, cigarette excise revenue grew 5.6% to IDR 55.7 trillion. However, cigarette production actually fell by 4.2% year-on-year. The steepest drop occurred in Tier 1 cigarettes (-10.9%), which are subject to higher excise rates, while growth in Tier 2 (1.3%) and Tier 3 (7.4%) cigarettes was not enough to offset the decline.
This downward production trend has been ongoing since 2021. Tobacco product output declined from 334.8 billion sticks in 2021 to just 317.4 billion sticks in 2024.
Amid these challenges, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise remains committed to strengthening supervision over illegal cigarette circulation. “With education and enforcement, we aim to ensure production stays legal and state revenue is safeguarded,” emphasized Askolani. (KEN)
