No Plan to Ompose Luxury Sales Tax on Cellular Phones

Jakarta (Antara) - The government had not decided whether to impose luxury sales tax on imported cellular phones, Deputy Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said. "There is no decision yet. We are still discussing it with the relevant parties. We don't want to see illegal products enter the country after we impose the luxury sales tax," he said here on Tuesday. Bambang said one of the issues discussed with the relevant parties was the possibility of applying IMEI codes to each legally imported cellular phone to prevent smuggling. "We will encourage the Communications and Information Ministry to apply the IMEI system in Indonesia. If possible, we want the IMEI system to run parallel to preparations for the imposition of the luxury sales tax," he said. He added that the government could impose the luxury sales tax based on the prices of cellular phones. The imposition of the luxury sales tax can be differentiated according to the technology, model and feature of imported cellular phones. "What is clear is that the luxury sales tax will be imposed on luxury cellular phones that have not been produced in Indonesia," he said. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) showed that Indonesia imported cellular phones worth US$2.79 billion last year. Cellular phones led Indonesia's non-oil/non-gas imports. (*) Reporting by Satyagraha