Almost 100 levy regulations under review
Almost 100 levy regulations under review
JAKARTA (JP): The central government is moving to dispose of official levies which local administrations claim overly burden companies.
The Director General of Public Administration and Regional Autonomy, Sumitro Maskun, said yesterday the Ministry of Home Affairs is currently reviewing 96 such regulations.
"We will determine if the regulations should be scrapped, maintained, or revised," Sumitro said at a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission II for domestic affairs.
Those under review consist of 36 decrees issued by provincial administrations and 60 decrees by regencies, he said.
The government's announcement came less than a week after President Soeharto ordered local administrations to scrap bylaws which create market distortions and repress economic growth.
Entrepreneurs have often complained about the countless regulations on levies which give rise to a high-cost economy and make their products uncompetitive in the world market.
Businesspeople and government officials plan to meet at the manpower ministry next month to discuss the problem of levies.
To be chaired by Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto, the event is a follow-up to a previous meeting between Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief and leaders of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier this month.
Levies imposed on businesses by local administrations dominated yesterday's hearing. Several House members said some regulations issued by the administrations were confusing.
"In East Timor, the provincial government has a decree legalizing gambling in a bid to collect money to finance the upcoming National Sports Week," said legislator Salvador J.X. Soares.
Gambling is illegal in Indonesia.
President Soeharto's recent order to stop private company PT Arbamass Multi Invesco, partly owned by his grandson Ari Sigit, from collecting beer levies in Bali provoked a lively debate among House members from the ruling group Golkar.
Salvador and A.A. Oka Mahendra proposed that the company should be stopped from collecting levies in other provinces as well.
"Why has the policy (to stop the levies) been applied only in Bali?" asked Oka, who hails from Bali. "Should the government wait until public pressure is strong enough in other places before it acts?"
PT Arbamass has a permit issued by the Directorate General of Public Administration and Regional Autonomy to collect Rp 600 from each label it sells to local beer retailers.
Salvador said PT Arbamass, through its subsidiary PT Arha Bangun, has failed to control the distribution of beer in East Timor.
"Beer is freely available in shops with prices increasing up to 40 percent," he said.
House member Mekka Hayade pointed out that many levies in the provinces are against existing decrees issued by heads of local governments. (pan)