House OK's duty on audio products

House OK's duty on audio products

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 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.