Thailand currently has the highest tax burden as a percentage of retail price (78.6%), followed closely by Philippines (71.3%) and Singapore (67.5%)
* There are no licensed tobacco importers and retails in Brunei since May 2014. Hence, there are no cigarettes being sold legally in the country.
**The estimate was calculated based on premium cigarette brand.
Type of Tax Applied | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
countries | Excise Rate | VAT/GST | Import Tariffs | Others |
Specific Tax | ||||
Brunei Darussalam | BND 0.25/stick | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Indonesia | IDR 80-380/stick,
(multiple tiers | 8.40% | 0% from ASEAN
plus China
40% from outside
ASEAN plus China | Local cigarette tax
10% of excise
tariff |
Philippines | PHP 21 or 28 per pack
(2 tiers) | 12% | 3-10% | Single uniform rate by
2017, then annual 4%
increase starting in
2018 |
Singapore | SGD 0.388/stick | 7% | N/A | N/A |
Ad Valorem Tax | ||||
Cambodia | 15% of 90% of
invoice price | 10% | 7-35% plus
10% import VAT | Public lighting tax 3%
of invoice value, Profit
tax 20% of Profit,
Turnover tax 2% of
invoice value |
Myanmar | 120% of retail price
(Commercial tax) | none | 30% on CIF | 1% special excise
duty, profit tax,
income tax |
Vietnam | 65% of ex-factory price
(75% of ex-factory price
in January 2016) | 10% | 30-135% | N/A |
Mixed System | ||||
Lao PDR | 15-30% of production
cost, plus LAK 500
additional specific tax | 10% | Flat rate USD 0.40/pack | Royalty fee 5% of
production cost |
Malaysia | MYR 0.25/stick specific
tax and 20% ad valorem
tax | 5% | MYR 0.20/stick | N/A |
Thailand | 87% of ex-factory price
or THB 1/gram, whichever
value is higher | 7% | Exempted but
other local taxes
are applied | Local tax THB 0.093/-
stick, ThaiHealth tax
at 2% of excise, and
TV tax at 1.5% of excise |
Generally, cigarette prices remain affordable and relatively low throughout the region, but particularly in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam (less than USD 1 per pack) where regular tax increases are needed to keep pace with economic and income growth.
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