ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Indonesia is currently grappling with a serious illegal cigarette crisis. The Directorate General of Customs and Excise at the Ministry of Finance has reported an alarming surge in the circulation of untaxed cigarettes. The majority of these are unmarked or “polos” cigarettes—those without official excise stamps—flooding the market without contributing to state revenue.
“Last year alone, we seized 226 million illegal cigarettes, and the majority were polos cigarettes,” stated Director General of Customs and Excise, Askolani, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
The situation has escalated as enforcement actions continue to rise each year. In 2024, Customs conducted 20,000 enforcement operations, while in both 2023 and 2022, the number reached 22,000 cases respectively.
In total, 752 million illegal cigarettes were confiscated in 2024, following 787 million in 2023. Shockingly, in just the first quarter of 2025, authorities had already intercepted over 253 million cigarettes.
“This is a serious national issue. The state is suffering massive revenue losses due to unpaid excise, while the illegal cigarette distribution network becomes more sophisticated,” Askolani emphasized.
Customs has revealed that smugglers are now using increasingly clever methods to evade detection. Instead of large trucks, they have shifted to private vehicles, including luxury vans like Alphards, Hiace, and even public buses.
“In several cases in Cirebon and Lampung, the volume of illegal cigarettes inside the vehicles exceeded the number of passengers,” Askolani reported.
Even more concerning, smugglers are now leveraging express courier services such as postal delivery and FedEx, and are selling illegal cigarettes via e-commerce platforms.
In response to this illegal cigarette emergency, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise is working hand-in-hand with law enforcement agencies, including the military (TNI), national police, and local municipal officers (Satpol PP), to conduct three major nationwide crackdowns per year.
“We’re not just targeting distributors—we’re going straight to the source by cracking down on illegal cigarette manufacturers, with full support from the Indonesian Armed Forces,” Askolani added.
Indonesia has reached a critical point. Illegal cigarettes are not only draining state revenues, but also undermining public health and fair competition in the tobacco industry. A coordinated, cross-sectoral response is essential to win this war against the illegal cigarette trade. (AT Network)
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