Kadin asks for transition period of customs law<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
\n(Kadin) has supported the new customs law but asked for a
\ntransition period of three to six months before it is fully
\nenforced.<\/p>\n
Kadin's Vice President Iman Taufik told The Jakarta Post the
\nchamber highly appreciated the good intention and determination
\nof the Customs and Excise Director General, Soehardjo, to
\nimplement the law on April 1 as scheduled.<\/p>\n
\"But is the customs service really prepared to fully enforce
\nthe law with its on-arrival inspection and post-entry audit
\nmechanism?\" Iman asked.<\/p>\n
According to Iman, it is crucial Indonesian exporters beef up
\ntheir weakening competitive edge.<\/p>\n
\"We would be finished if import flows were delayed because of
\nour high ambitions to fully enforce the law in April,\" he said,
\nadding that smooth import flows are crucial for the manufacturing
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
The new customs law will introduce selective on-arrival
\ninspection of imports, post-entry audit of import documents and a
\nself-assessment system for calculating import duties.<\/p>\n
The law will also implement the GATT code of valuating imports
\nfor customs purposes on the basis of transaction values.<\/p>\n
European, American and South Korean businessmen have also
\nexpressed concern over the new system of customs inspection which
\nwould replace the current preshipment inspection which is
\nconducted by state-owned PT Surveyor Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The businessmen have also been apprehensive of the competence
\nand mental attitude of customs officials in exercising their new
\nresponsibility.<\/p>\n
They said they did not see any improvements in the
\ncircumstances and conditions which had forced the Indonesian
\ngovernment in mid-1985 to strip the corruption-infested customs
\nof its import inspection and introduce the preshipment inspection
\nsystem at points of loading.<\/p>\n
Iman welcomed Soehardjo's efforts to introduce an electronic
\ndata interchange (EDI) system to process documents as it would
\nminimize physical contact between businessmen and customs
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
He agreed that minimizing physical contact could reduce
\nopportunities for collusion between businessmen and customs
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
\"But we are not sure yet whether the customs service is fully
\nprepared to run the EDI system,\" the chamber vice president
\nadded.<\/p>\n
He said the customs service had not yet trained enough
\noperators to run the EDI system even though the start-up date for
\nits implementation was only a few weeks away.<\/p>\n
\"We therefore have suggested that importers be given a
\ntransition period of between three to six months during which
\nthey have the option of either using the current preshipment
\ninspection system or the new one (on-arrival inspection and post-
\naudit) under the customs law,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Such a transition period, Iman added, is essential as any
\ndelay in the release of imports could wipe out the small
\ncompetitive advantage still owned by exporters of industrial
\ngoods.<\/p>\n
\"We should not talk about the global market. Even within the
\nASEAN region, our competitive edge is very weak,\" Iman said.<\/p>\n
He expressed fear that past practices would recur such as
\nbefore June, 1985 when the customs service was stripped of its
\nimport inspection authority.<\/p>\n
Businessmen, Iman added, had often been forced to bribe
\ncustoms officials to get fast clearance of their imports.<\/p>\n
\"The problem is, though, we cannot account for such spending
\nas operational or production costs as we cannot produce the legal
\nreceipts,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Businessmen often have to mark up the prices of their imported
\nmaterials or other expenditures, otherwise such illegal spending
\nwould have to be included in taxable incomes, Iman added.
\n(rid\/vin)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kadin-asks-for-transition-period-of-customs-law-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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