In following up on the issuance of the government\u2019s economic policy package last week, the Trade Ministry will ease export and
\nimport regulations to improve the business climate and ensure national stocks of basic commodities, an official has said.<\/p>\n
The ministry\u2019s deregulation team head Arlinda Imbang Jaya said at least 32 regulations, mostly ministerial regulations, would be
\namended by the ministry through October this year.<\/p>\n
The ministry will also cut at least 38 export and import permits from the total of 121 permits under the ministry, including
\nfour registered exporter (ET) permits, 21 registered importer (IT) permits and 13 producing importer (IP) permits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope the measure will increase the flow of goods for imports, exports and domestic trade, as well as ensure the supply of
\nthe commodities in the market and therefore stabilize prices,\u201d Arlinda said at a press briefing on Friday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia recorded US$6.22 billion in trade surplus in the January-August period of this year, with total exports and imports
\nslumping by 12.7 percent and 18.96 percent year-on-year (yoy), respectively.<\/p>\n
The declining exports and imports have indicated that many industries in the country are still facing a slowdown.<\/p>\n
The ease for exports and imports will also be applied on so-called strategic commodities, such as rice, sugar, salt and
\nplantation products, with the removal of requirements for recommendations from other ministries and agencies for the import and
\nexport of the products.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have finished talking with the ministries that usually give the recommendations, such as the Industry Ministry, Agriculture
\nMinistry, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and others. There are some policies that need relaxation from their side to
\nremove the recommendation requirements,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Arlinda added that through the import relaxation, the ministry hoped that the industry could better utilize raw materials.<\/p>\n
Imports of raw materials increased by 18.7 percent month-to-month (mtm) to $9.15 billion in August, a reverse from the 21.4
\npercent drop a month before, according to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data.<\/p>\n
Under the new regulation, the government would make a decision on local production, national demand and import volume of the
\ncommodities in a limited coordination meeting (Rakortas), involving related ministries.<\/p>\n
Regarding rice imports, the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) previously said that the national stock of subsidized rice would be
\nclose to running out by the year\u2019s end, as the stock stood at 62,000 tons while it needed 1.5 to 2 million tons to meet next
\nyear\u2019s demand. The impact of El Ni\u00f1o on production also loomed, though Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman has stated his
\nconfidence on not importing rice this year.<\/p>\n
With regard to salt imports, Arlinda said the ministry would scrap requirements for IT and IP, saying the requirement would only
\nbe applied to producing importers\u2019 identification numbers (API).<\/p>\n
Similar ease on imports would also be applied to other commodities, such as steel, with the scrapping of tax identification
\nnumber (NPWP) and business permit (SIUP) document requirements.<\/p>\n
According to Arlinda, the export-import process would also be available online starting October.<\/p>\n
With the easing, the ministry would also still manage the flow of imports by obliging importers to uphold the policy to label
\nimported product in Indonesian prior to selling them.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-to-ease-permits-required-for-exportsimports",
"image": "imports.png"
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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