Recently, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DGCE) of the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia announced that additional types of goods will be subject to excise tax in accordance with statutory provisions.
Entertainment show tickets, such as music concert tickets, are rumoured to be included in the list.
Responding to this, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, also appealed to the public not to rashly assess the discourse, especially since it was just a rumour.
Even so, Sandiaga calculated that if concert tickets were subject to excise, for example, foreign tourists’ spending of around 1,500 US dollars, or around IDR 24.41 million, per person on each visit would be too expensive, and this potential could be lost.
“I don’t think we should be too concerned, but it’s better to be concerned. Let’s see, make sure the ecosystem that is built has known costs and benefits before a policy is taken,” he told Kompas in The Weekly Brief with Sandi Uno, held in Jakarta on Monday, July 29, 2024.
The discourse on music concert tickets that will be subject to customs duties is seen from the great interest of Indonesians in music concerts.
This is one reason why the DGCE wants to impose an excise duty on these tickets. Sandi emphasised that the government still needs to pay attention to the policy’s efficiency if it is to be implemented.
However, Sandiaga acknowledged that Indonesia needs more fiscal space, but imposing excise on concert tickets may not be one of the solutions.
“Is it right to give excise now? Are there no other products? We should enter into a more technocratic, deeper discussion so as not to harm us,” he continued.
Even so, he is optimistic that the government’s goal is to create music concerts in Indonesia that are increasingly in demand with quality tourists.
Indonesia customs response to concert ticket proposal
As reported by Kompas, Director of Communication and Guidance of Customs Service Users Nirwala Dwi Heriyanto said that the goods in the pre-examination list of excise objects are still limited to proposals.
The proposal for concert tickets to be subject to excise is still in the context of obtaining input from various groups involved.
It is known that the imposition of excise on an item is not done carelessly because the object in question must go through discussions and procedures.
What do you think? If concert tickets are subject to excise tax, will they still be attractive to foreign tourists?
