Excise on audio products approved

The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Despite protests from recording industry players, House of Representatives Commission IX on financial affairs approved on Wednesday a proposal from the Ministry of Finance to impose excise on audio video products.

Director General of Excise Eddy Abdurrahman said that the imposition of excise on audio products was aimed at increasing state revenue.

"The funds obtained from the excise will be used to finance a number of sectors, including the police, to help push law enforcement," he said.

Furthermore, Eddy said, the rate of the excise would be determined by a team, which would include the Ministry of Finance.

"We (the Directorate General of Excise) will simply be the executor," he said.

He hoped the regulation for the imposition of the excise would be deliberated before the end of the year and would take effect starting 2005.

Asked about the effectiveness of such an imposition to curb piracy, Eddy said he was confident that it could do so as long as the policy was implemented consistently and correctly.

Head of Commission IX on finance Emir Moeis said that the government should implement the policy carefully to avoid alienating the public with unaffordable prices.

Audio products include cassettes, laser discs, compact discs, video compact disc and digital versatile discs (DVDs).

A number of associations have opposed the government's proposal, including the Indonesian Association of Recording Industries. No immediate comment from them was available.