Retired officials behind phantom import firms<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A senior customs official said retired customs officials were
\nconnected to the more than 1,500 \"phantom\" import companies whose
\nlicenses were recently suspended by the government.<\/p>\n
The head of the importer registration project at the
\nDirectorate General of Customs and Excise, Nirwala Dwi Heryanto,
\nsaid the retired officials either owned or had helped corrupt
\nbusinessmen establish the firms.<\/p>\n
\"Such suspicions are well founded given that they (retired
\nofficials) are familiar with customs procedures,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post over the weekend.<\/p>\n
He was commenting on the recent move by the Ministry of
\nIndustry and Trade to suspend the licenses of 1,566 importers,
\nrepresenting 21 percent of the country's total 7,126 importers,
\nfollowing their failure to submit company data, including their
\naddresses.<\/p>\n
The move is part of the ministry's campaign to increase the
\nsupervision of the country's import activities in a bid to curb
\nsmuggling.<\/p>\n
Nirwala said senior customs officials often continued to
\nexert influence over junior officials even after retirement.
\nCorrupt retired officials, he said, use this influence to skirt
\ncustoms procedures in collusion with active officials.<\/p>\n
\"The practice is possible thanks to Indonesia's tradition in
\nwhich juniors respect their seniors very much. This is a common
\nphenomenon in all government offices,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Given their connections with active officials and knowledge of
\nthe loopholes in import procedures, retired customs officials
\noften provide consulting services to import firms, advising them
\non how to clear imported goods without going through the normal
\nprocedures.<\/p>\n
The Directorate General of Customs and Excise said corrupt
\nimporters had caused the state roughly Rp 8 trillion (US$909
\nmillion) in lost revenue each year from customs duties and import
\ntaxes alone.<\/p>\n
Law enforcers have found it difficult to shut down these
\nphantom import firms because they use fake addresses and
\nidentities when applying for import licenses.<\/p>\n
As part of the effort to curb illegal activities, the
\ndirectorate has ordered all licensed importers to register with
\nthe agency. The agency wants to identify dubious importers likely
\nto be involved in smuggling.<\/p>\n
Under a joint ministerial decree signed by Minister of
\nIndustry and Trade Rini Soewandi and Minister of Finance Boediono
\nlast December, all importers must register and submit their
\ncompany data, including their financial reports, to the customs
\noffice by April 1. Customs officials will then conduct field
\nchecks to verify the data submitted by the importers.<\/p>\n
Starting next month, only those importers who have registered
\nwith the customs office will be allowed to continue their
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
Nirwala said that as of Saturday, about 4,000 of the total
\n7,126 importers had passed the field checks. The others either
\nhad failed the checks or had delayed their registration due to
\n\"technical problems\".<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/retired-officials-behind-phantom-import-firms-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}