House probe pre-shipment inspection<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Customs and Excise Duty Director General
\nSoehardjo said yesterday he could not give any judgment on the
\nbenefits of pre-shipment inspection of imports.<\/p>\n
Soehardjo told a hearing with the Trade and Finance Commission
\nof the House of Representatives that he dared not venture any
\nopinion as to whether the system, which was introduced in the
\nmiddle of 1985, was efficient or not.<\/p>\n
"The government itself has never evaluated the benefits of the
\npre-shipment inspection of imports," he said in reply to
\nquestions from the House members.<\/p>\n
Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad stated last week that the
\ngovernment had decided to maintain the system as it has proved to
\nbe most effective in facilitating the smooth flows of imports.<\/p>\n
Mar'ie added that the maintenance of the pre-shipment
\ninspection system was by no means related to the performance of
\nthe customs service.<\/p>\n
The system, introduced as part of a massive deregulation
\npackage in mid-1985, virtually stripped the customs service of
\nits authority to inspect imports at Indonesian seaports.<\/p>\n
The pre-shipment inspection was initially assigned to the
\nGeneva-based Societe Generale de Surveillance but starting last
\nyear the inspection was entrusted to state-owned PT Surveyor
\nIndonesia, and the Swiss company has since then acted as the
\nsubcontractor.<\/p>\n
The customs and excise duty director general quoted a study by
\nthe World Customs Union as concluding that the system of pre-
\nshipment inspection proved ineffective for preventing corruption
\nand expediting import flows.<\/p>\n
Members of the commission seemed to be surprised to hear
\nSoehardjo's explanations, wondering why the government has
\ndecided to maintain the system without assessing its
\neffectiveness.<\/p>\n
House member Yusuf Syakir contended though, that the
\ngovernment might have made an evaluation of the system but on a
\nlimited scale.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Importers Association, which polled 1,000 of
\nits members throughout the country about the pre-shipment
\ninspection system early this year, said 99 percent of the
\nrespondents saw the system as the most effective and efficient
\nprocedure for facilitating import flows.<\/p>\n
The government announced early this year that the system had
\nminimized under-invoicing of imports and greatly contributed to
\nsmoothing import flows.<\/p>\n
The government based its assessment on the fact that receipts
\nfrom import duties rose sharply and steadily between 1984 and
\n1993 even though the bulk of imports -- raw materials and capital
\ngoods -- have either been exempted from tariffs or subject to
\nvery low duties. (vin)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-probe-pre-shipment-inspection-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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