Customs director vows to improve service<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Customs director Permana Agung has again pledged
\nto facilitate smooth flows of goods through Tanjung Priok port by
\nforging closer coordination with banks and customs brokers.<\/p>\n
Permana said the customs office could not speed up the
\nclearance of goods from the customs area without help from banks,
\ncustoms brokers and the port authority.<\/p>\n
\"I cannot blame anybody for the current piling-up of
\ncontainers at Tanjung Priok because every related party has tried
\nits best to make improvements,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Permana said he had ordered the head of Tanjung Priok's
\ncustoms office, Noek Safroeroh, to coordinate with banks and
\ncustoms brokers to speed up the moving of containers out of the
\nport's container terminals.<\/p>\n
Antara reported yesterday that containers took up 86 percent
\nof the terminals' capacity, down from 97 percent a few days ago.<\/p>\n
Noek said her office had tried hard to speed up customs
\ndocument processing to keep goods moving.<\/p>\n
She said the piling-up of containers was largely because of a
\nbig increase in the flow of goods through the port since April 1,
\nwhen the customs office regained its inspection authority.<\/p>\n
The customs service was stripped of its import inspection
\nauthority in mid-1985.<\/p>\n
A preshipment inspection system was introduced and the
\ngovernment-appointed surveyor inspected goods at loading points
\nhere and overseas. This system was scrapped on March, 31.<\/p>\n
Importers and customs brokers have blamed the slow processing
\nof customs documents for the slow movement of goods. They also
\ncomplained that too many import consignments had been ordered to
\nthe red lane, therefore requiring physical inspection.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for state-owned port management company PT
\nPelabuhan III in Surabaya, Tarjuno, said inadequate customs
\nclearance had caused slower cargo flows and higher storage levels
\nat container terminals.<\/p>\n
Businessman Sofyan Wanandi complained that the customs service
\nhad tightened the regulatory paperwork for importers and
\nexporters.<\/p>\n
Sofyan said the customs office demanded importers and
\nexporters report too many things in customs declarations.<\/p>\n
\"Because of this, we have to add more people just to fill in
\nthose forms,\" Sofyan said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Importers Association's chairman, Amirudin
\nSaud, said a lack of data processing equipment and competent
\nelectronic data interchange (EDI) system operators also
\ncontributed to slow customs clearance.<\/p>\n
Most importers had not yet subscribed to the EDI system, and
\nhad to process their customs declarations manually, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them don't even understand how to prepare customs
\ndeclaration forms on a diskette (to be processed at the EDI
\nsystem),\" Amirudin said.<\/p>\n
He urged the customs office to extend the transition period
\nfor the EDI system by eight weeks so importers could better
\nprepare for the electronic system.<\/p>\n
The customs office demands importers submit customs
\ndeclarations through the EDI system or diskettes starting today.<\/p>\n
The EDI system would speed up document processing and customs
\nclearance for the release of goods from the port, Permana said.
\n(rid)<\/p>",
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