Market & legal data in the tobacco alternatives sector in Indonesia

14th November 2024: Indonesia: Concerns over the draft regulations setting out plain packaging requirements for tobacco and nicotine products continue to grow in Indonesia. Willy Aditya of the NasDem Party and head of Commission XIII of the House of Representatives, has reportedly urged the government to prioritise public interest over special sectoral groups, while Indah Anggoro Putri, an official in the Ministry of Labour, has reportedly warned again over the potential layoffs that could result from the proposed regulations. The head of the Tobacco Farmers Association (APTI) for the Bondowoso Region, Muhammad Yasid, has reportedly said that the drafting process of the proposed regulations have been discriminatory and non-transparent.
4th November 2024: Indonesia: Legislator Nurhadi has warned that the implementation of the draft regulations developing the government regulations that established a comprehensive regulatory framework for tobacco and nicotine products could result in a loss of IDR160.6tn ($10bn) in tax revenue, press reports. He said that his party, the NasDem Party – currently holding 69 seats in the parliament – rejects the draft regulations, urging the government to find a solution that is less detrimental to the tobacco farmers' industry. The main areas of concern around these regulations are the plain packaging provisions, the ban on the sale of tobacco and nicotine products within 200 m of an educational institution, and the advertising restrictions.
28th October 2024: Indonesia: The head of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) of the Jakarta region, Diana Dewi, has urged the Ministry of Health to revoke the proposed draft regulations introducing plain packaging provisions for tobacco and nicotine products, press reports. Dewi argues that the draft regulations are discriminatory against business actors and stakeholders in the tobacco industry.
28th October 2024: Indonesia: The Ministry of Agriculture is concerned about the potential impact of the draft regulations setting out plain packaging provisions for tobacco and nicotine products on the agricultural sector, saying that the draft regulations will decrease the productivity of the tobacco industry, one of the leading commodities in the country, press reports. The director of seasonal and annual plants, Muhammad Rizal Ismail, has said that production will decrease due to the reduction in demand if the draft regulations are passed. He argues that such decrease in productivity will lead to the loss of tobacco farmers' livelihoods.
24th October 2024: Indonesia: The Ministry of Labour is concerned about the consequences on tobacco farmers’ employment from the draft regulations setting out plain packaging provisions for tobacco and nicotine products, press reports. The ministry’s director general of industrial relations and social security for labour, Indah Anggoro Putri, has said that the ministry will continue holding interministerial discussions on the consequences of the draft regulations on employment, focusing on preventing layoffs. Last month, the Ministry of Health said that it was holding discussions with business operators on the draft regulations, while the Ministry of Trade warned that the draft regulations have the potential to clash with the World Trade Organization.
21st October 2024: Indonesia: The minister of health has said that the regulations concerning labelling and packaging requirements for novel tobacco and nicotine products are being finalised, press reports. The regulations have been fiercely criticised by some industry members, who allege that plain packaging provisions pose a threat to tobacco farmers, and so it is still unclear if the final draft will include standardised requirements.
21st October 2024: Indonesia: The secretary general of the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association (APTI) has welcomed the decision of the government not to increase the excise duty applicable on tobacco products, press reports. Indonesia has been traditionally known for increasing such excise duty – including the tax on novel tobacco and nicotine products – every year but, as we previously reported earlier this month, this year the government has decided against it. The secretary general said the quantity and quality of grassroots tobacco plantations continue to improve, stressing the importance of maintaining these conditions to help farmers become more independent.
15th October 2024: Indonesia: The Indonesian Farmers’ Association (HKTI) has asked the government not to ratify the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The association considers the WHO FCTC to be inappropriate for the complexity of the social and economic conditions of the country’s tobacco industry, where the entire ecosystem chain involves more than 6m Indonesians and is the driving force of the national economy, press reports. The HKTI has called for the creation of fairer and more balanced national regulations to protect the livelihoods of millions of tobacco farmers.
10th October 2024: Indonesia: A high-ranking Ministry of Health official has criticised the decision to not increase tobacco taxes in 2025. Head of the Ministry of Health’s Communication and Public Service Bureau, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said the decision could negatively impact the smoking reduction target. Such criticism in the press indicates the existence of a divergence within the Indonesian government that previously surfaced during a meeting in late September. The decision to not raise taxes was communicated by the director-general of Customs and Excise of the Ministry of Finance on 23rd September.
26th September 2024: Indonesia: Health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said yesterday (25th September) that after the industry backlash on the plain packaging provisions set out in the draft regulations developing the government regulations that established a comprehensive regulatory framework for tobacco and nicotine products, his ministry is reviewing the provisions with business partners, press reports.
25th September 2024: Indonesia: The Ministry of Trade has reportedly warned that the plain packaging requirements for tobacco and nicotine products – which were set out in the draft regulations developing the government regulations that established a comprehensive regulatory framework for tobacco and nicotine products – have the potential to clash with the World Trade Organization (WTO), especially regarding trademark rights and trade barriers.
25th September 2024: Indonesia: An official in the Ministry of Health has called for an increase in the excise duties applicable to tobacco products so they are not as available to young people as they currently are, press reports. This increase could potentially affect taxation of heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.

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