Regarding Plain Cigarette Packaging, Customs Warns of Risks to Watch Out For

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise of the Ministry of Finance has issued a warning regarding various non-fiscal policy designs related to the tobacco industry (IHT), including the planned implementation of plain packaging without branding, stating that these measures must not create new loopholes for the distribution of illegal cigarettes.

Budi Prasetiyo, the Sub-Director of Public Relations and Community Education at the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, stated that the agency will continue to coordinate and provide input within its authority to ensure that the formulated policies can be implemented effectively and do not lead to an increase in illegal cigarette circulation.

“Customs, in this regard, will continue to coordinate and provide input according to its authority, so that the resulting policies can be implemented effectively, proportionally, and without creating new loopholes for the circulation of illegal cigarettes,” Bemma said in an official statement on Friday, 5 June 2026.

According to Budi, Customs supports the formulation of tobacco industry policies that are conducted comprehensively by involving various stakeholders. The input provided primarily relates to excise implementation, the supervision of tobacco product distribution, the protection of state revenue, and the eradication of illegal cigarettes.

Budi emphasised that tobacco industry policies need to be formulated in a balanced manner, considering four main aspects: controlling consumption for public health, the sustainability of the industry and workforce, the protection of state revenue, and the effectiveness of supervision over the circulation of illegal cigarettes.

Data from the Ministry of Finance shows that up to April 2026, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise had carried out 5,451 enforcement actions against illegal cigarettes, an increase of 23.3 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. From these enforcement actions, 684 million sticks of illegal cigarettes were successfully seized, representing a year-on-year increase of 125.8 per cent.

Customs maintains that the supervision of illegal cigarettes must remain a priority in the formulation of any new policy to ensure that health objectives, state revenue, and supervisory effectiveness can be balanced.