Redefinition of customs service urged<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An independent research group yesterday
\nsuggested that the government redefine its contract with the
\nSociete Generale de Surveillance (SGS) in inspecting Indonesia's
\nimports because it runs counter to GATT rules and gives no
\nprofits.<\/p>\n
\"It's ridiculous to continue assigning SGS to pre-shipment
\ninspections since we reduced our import tariffs to an average of
\n19 percent,\" Rizal Ramli, the managing director of the Advisory
\nGroup in Economics, Industry and Trade (Econit), said at a press
\nconference yesterday.<\/p>\n
SGS is a Geneva-based surveyor firm, which was licensed in
\n1985 under a three-year contract to inspect Indonesia's imports
\nat the point of loading following concern about the country's
\nnotorious red tape and corruption among customs officials.<\/p>\n
PT Surveyor Indonesia, a company 76 percent owned by the
\ngovernment, 20 percent by SGS and four percent by PT Sucofindo, a
\nstate-owned surveyor firm, is expected to take over all the pre-
\ninspection jobs from SGS by December.<\/p>\n
Ramli said yesterday that the pre-shipment inspections are
\nagainst the Valuation Code of the General Agreement on Tariffs
\nand Trade (GATT), which requires its signatories, including
\nIndonesia, to value imported goods based on the prices of actual
\ntransactions.<\/p>\n
\"It should not be based on the value of merchandise at the
\ncountry of origin or on arbitrary or fictitious value. The
\ncustoms value of imported goods shall be based on actual
\ntransactions,\" he added, referring to the practice whereby
\nIndonesian customs and SGS estimate the value of imported goods.<\/p>\n
The government claims that SGS's inspections have given it
\nmore revenue because importers can no longer under-invoice their
\ngoods in an attempt to reduce payments for import duties. On the
\nother hand, importers often complain that they have to pay
\nexcessive duties because the check prices set by SGS are higher
\nthan the actual prices.<\/p>\n
Robert P. Collier, the chief representative of SGS's Jakarta
\noffice, was not available yesterday for comment. \"He has a
\nmeeting,\" said Collier's secretary.<\/p>\n
Laksamana Sukardi, an associate director of Econit, said that
\nthe practice of pre-shipment inspections should be abandoned on
\nthe grounds that Indonesia's import tariff rates have been
\nreduced from 37 percent in 1984 to the present 19 percent.<\/p>\n
\"Industrialists are not interested in risking under-
\ninvoicing,\" Laksamana said.<\/p>\n
Post-audit<\/p>\n
\"It's better to implement a post-audit system than the pre-
\nshipment inspection,\" he said. \"No other country employs SGS the
\nway Indonesia does.\"<\/p>\n
\"We're the biggest customer of SGS. We pay them some Rp 450
\nbillion (US$207 million) annually just for inspection fees,\" he
\nbluntly said.<\/p>\n
He noted that the Indonesian government could purchase SGS
\nwithin 10 years at such a fee schedule.<\/p>\n
SGS and the government in 1991 founded PT Surveyor Indonesia
\n(SI) in a bid to transfer know-how on goods inspections to
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Ramli questioned whether SI could replace the dominant
\nposition of SGS after nine years of operation.<\/p>\n
According to Econit, SGS carries out 68 percent of import
\ninspections and gets 71.1 percent of the total inspection fees,
\nwhile SI administers 32 percent of the inspections but receives
\nonly 28.9 percent of the fees.<\/p>\n
\"What kind of technology do they possess? Those people are
\njust filling out forms and don't even know when a number of
\ncontainers full of toxic waste were imported into this country,\"
\nsaid M.S. Zulkarnaen, another associate director of Econit and
\nalso an ardent supporter of protecting the environment.<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen, Ramli and Laksamana agreed that it is better for
\nthe government to redefine its policy on customs service and, if
\nthe government agrees, to implement post-audit inspections with
\nthe help of prime intelligence service.<\/p>\n
\"It's just like paying taxes. Let the business people fill in
\nthe forms themselves. We just do the checking,\" Ramli said.<\/p>\n
All of the three said that Econit is prepared to defend its
\nresearch-based analysis by inviting related parties to open
\ndebates with them. (09)<\/p>",
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