Customs told port pile-up could affect trade<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Overseas Ship Owners' Representatives
\nAssociation (OSRA) warned that unless the customs office took
\nserious steps Tanjung Priok port's container pile-up could create
\nserious problems.<\/p>\n
OSRA chairman Lim Kean Joo said in a letter to the director
\ngeneral of customs and excise that the current pile-up of
\ncontainers at the port could affect imports and exports.<\/p>\n
\"There is the added concern of reports of conferences abroad
\nconsidering placing the issue of delays to import containers on
\ntheir watch lists,\" Lim wrote, a copy of his letter was made
\navailable here last week.<\/p>\n
He said buyers in the United States and Europe were concerned
\nabout reliability. The problems in Tanjung Priok might make them
\nreluctant to place orders in Indonesia for fear of delays and
\ncost increases.<\/p>\n
\"We understand that our members are daily getting inquiries
\nabout the situation from buyers overseas. To mitigate the problem
\nwe urge that any possible steps be taken to alleviate the
\nsituation,\" Lim said.<\/p>\n
He said OSRA members were concerned that the current container
\npile-up could lead to congestion like in 1995, when the average
\nship's waiting time was over 24 hours and yard occupancy ratio
\nreached over 70 percent.<\/p>\n
Last month, the yard occupancy ratio at Tanjung Priok reached
\na critical 97 percent before the authorities removed containers
\nevery day to adjacent privately owned container terminals.<\/p>\n
Economist I Nyoman Moena suggested the customs office combine
\npreshipment inspections of imports and post-release audits to
\nreduce the high stack of containers.<\/p>\n
\"When we had a preshipment inspection system we never had
\ncontainer pile-ups that high (97 percent). It seems to me that
\nthe system is not yet working,\" Moena was quoted by Antara as
\nsaying Sunday.<\/p>\n
Moena is a former president of PT Surveyor Indonesia, which
\nundertook preshipment inspections of imports from 1991 to last
\nMarch when the customs office reinstated a combination of on-
\narrival inspections, duty and tax self-assessments and post-
\nrelease audits.<\/p>\n
Importers have blamed slow customs service for the recent
\npile-up, while the customs office has blamed importers'
\nunwillingness to use electronic data interchange.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Transportations has also blamed importers for
\nthe pile-up. It said importers deliberately delayed picking up
\ntheir containers from Tanjung Priok's container yards for as long
\nas six days because they were only charged a one-day fee.<\/p>\n
And President Soeharto, after a report from the transportation
\nminister, ordered him to force container owners to remove their
\ncontainers immediately after they arrived at the port.<\/p>\n
But forcing importers to clear their containers right after
\narrival will be futile if importers cannot process their import
\ndocuments quickly.<\/p>\n
\"Rather than blaming each other, while imports increase, why
\ndoesn't the customs office ask PT Surveyor Indonesia to be its
\nworking partner again,\" Nyoman Moena said.<\/p>\n
Moena said the current pile-up at Tanjung Priok would cause
\nlosses to everyone concerned. (rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/customs-told-port-pile-up-could-affect-trade-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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