Anti-smuggling draft decree dropped<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
In a surprise move, the government has scrapped plans to issue an
\nemergency decree in lieu of law on smuggling, dashing hopes of an
\nimmediate campaign against the rampant practice.<\/p>\n
Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu said the government
\nbacktracked on the plan because of the absence of reliable ground
\nto justify the claim that smuggling was a national emergency. She
\nsaid the government would instead amend the existing law on
\nsmuggling.<\/p>\n
"In a meeting attended by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of
\nTrade and some experts, we found that it was hard for us to
\ndefend the argument that smuggling had reached a state of
\nemergency," she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
A decree in lieu of law, or Perpu, is often issued in cases of
\nemergency, although there is no clear definition of what
\nconstitutes a state of emergency. A Perpu does not need the
\napproval of the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
The meeting also concluded that it would be better for the
\ngovernment to amend a number of articles related to smuggling in
\nLaw No. 10\/1995 on customs, she said.<\/p>\n
Mari added that a special technical team led by the Ministry
\nof Finance promised to finish a proposal on the law's amendment
\nwithin two months, before its submission to the House for
\ndeliberation.<\/p>\n
She hoped the House would support the government's efforts and
\ndeliberate the amendments as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
The plan to issue a Perpu emerged late last year amid public
\ncomplaints that smuggling had become so bad it was damaging local
\nindustries, whose products could not compete with smuggled
\nproducts due to the huge price disparities.<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono included the enactment of a
\nPerpu on smuggling on his agenda for his first 100 days in
\noffice.<\/p>\n
Aside from harming local industries, smuggling also has hurt
\ninvestment in the country.<\/p>\n
The electronics industry has repeatedly claimed that at least
\n50 percent of electronics products in the domestic market were
\nsmuggled.<\/p>\n
The final draft of the Perpu included harsher punishments for
\nsmugglers, a witness protection program, special incentives for
\ninvestigators and a clause that classified customs officials'
\n"ignorance" as a punishable crime.<\/p>\n
Under the draft Perpu, the Ministry of Trade would have played
\na leading role in the war against smuggling, instead of officials
\nfrom the Customs and Excise Office, as stipulated under existing
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
Mari said she would fight to include key points from the draft
\nof the Perpu in the amended law, notably the definition of
\nsmuggling and the harsher punishments.<\/p>\n
"We may not finish the law within our first 100 days in
\noffice, but rest assured that curbing smuggling is still a top
\npriority of this Cabinet," she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/anti-smuggling-draft-decree-dropped-1447899208",
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