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Illegal products inflict state losses of Rp 55b: Minister
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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
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inance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said the sales of illegal goods in the markets have inflicted state losses of Rp 55 billion (US$3.78 million) in 2018.
“The illegal goods that have caused the state losses are mostly in the form of fake excise tape, unregistered cigarettes, illegal liquors and other products,” the minister said when attending an event in which seized illegal products were destroyed on Wednesday by the customs and excise office in Semarang.
She said the customs and excise office had seized fake excise tape and illegal cigarettes worth Rp 20.7 billion, as well as illegal liquor (Rp 779 million), among other items.
The authority investigated 203 cases in which 108 people were named suspects in 2018, Sri Mulyani said, adding that the illegal product cases in Central Java and Yogyakarta reached 28 and 25, respectively.
She said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had declared a war against illegal products and therefore, supervision and monitoring would be intensified.
The minister said the government faced a dilemma as many of the illegal products were produced by micro and small enterprises that were needed by consumers.
“But law enforcement should continue. Therefore, I call on the Central Java governor to encourage small businesspeople to legalize their products. By producing legal products, their economic activities could support development,” Sri Mulyanid added. (bbn)
