Customs office to recover unpaid import tariffs<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Directorate General of Customs and Excise is
\ntrying to recover funds from importers who are reluctant to pay
\ntheir due arrears on \"unpaid\" import duties.<\/p>\n
Director of Verification Roy Ronald Lino said in a one-day
\nworkshop on customs and excise here over the weekend that many
\nimporters still have \"unpaid duties\" owed to the government due
\nto the mistakes made by the Geneva-based Societe Generale de
\nSurveillance (SGS) in its inspections.<\/p>\n
\"After our verification, we found that SGS had made mistakes
\nin some pre-shipment inspections on products to be exported to
\nIndonesia, especially in calculating tariffs,\" Roy said.<\/p>\n
In 1985, in its effort to make the inflow of goods run
\nsmoothly and to prevent corruption and red tape, the government
\nhired SGS to inspect Indonesia's imports at points of loading.
\nPreviously, goods inspection were carried out by the Directorate
\nGeneral of Customs and Excise at the country's ports of entry.<\/p>\n
According to the Advisory Group in Economy, Industry and Trade
\n(Econit), SGS carries out the inspection of 68 percent of the
\ncountry's imports, while the rest are administered by the state-
\nowned PT Surveyor Indonesia.<\/p>\n
However, the government has given authority to the directorate
\ngeneral to review the work of the two surveyor companies and to
\nconduct selective on-arrival inspections if necessary.<\/p>\n
Lower<\/p>\n
Roy noted that many tariffs determined by SGS were lower than
\nthe actual tariffs set by the government and others were actually
\nhigher.<\/p>\n
\"If tariffs determined by SGS were higher than they should
\nhave been then the government is committed to returning the
\nexceeding amount,\" Roy noted.<\/p>\n
However, he added, when SGS-determined tariffs were less than
\nthey should be the importers showed reluctance in paying the
\ndifference to the government. \"They claim that it's not their
\nfault as they got the tariff levels from SGS.\"<\/p>\n
When asked, Roy declined to give the exact amount of the
\ngovernment's \"unpaid\" revenues resulting from the miscalculation
\nof import tariffs, saying that the amount changes from time to
\ntime.<\/p>\n
He reiterated that his office is trying to recover the losses
\nas it has the authority to do so, based on Article 20 of the
\nexisting Customs Ordinance. However, his office has no authority
\nin forcing the defiant importers to pay the outstanding sums.<\/p>\n
\"If we fail to recover the due payments, we just transfer the
\ncase to the General Agency for the State Credits and Auctions,
\nwhich has the authority to deal with such importers,\" Roy said.
\n(rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/customs-office-to-recover-unpaid-import-tariffs-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}