EDICT ON SMOKING TO AFFECT EXCISE RECEIPTS : OFFICIAL

Jakarta, March 16 (ANTARA) - The edict (Fatwa) issued by the country's Muslim organization Muhammadiyah that smoking is haram (banned by religion) is expected to affect the government's excise receipts in 2010, a senor official said.

"Surely it (the edict) will affect the country's excise receipt target. We will see later how significant its effect is because right now we have not yet calculated it," Director General of Customs and Excise Thomas Sugijata said on Monday.

Thomas said that the directorate general of customs and excises would respect the edict, and would recalculate the potentials of the country's excise receipts if the fatwa is already in force.

"We have not yet counted it. We will wait for one or two months after the fatwa has come into force before we can make any recalculations," the director general said.

Indonesia's excise receipts in the year ending on March 10 reached Rp12.75 trillion, accounting for 22.26 percent of the target set in the 2010 state budget.

The target of excise receipts for 2010 is Rp57.29 trillion, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise said in its online report.

The legal council of the Muhammadiyah organization has issued a fatwa which stated that smoking, which had caused various negative impacts in the health, social and economic sectors, is haram, or rejected by religion.

In 2005, the council issued a fatwa which said that smoking was 'mubah' or allowed but better to leave it.