Cellular phones smuggled

Cellular phones smuggled

JAKARTA (JP): Almost 40 percent of the estimated 200,000
cellular telephones currently being traded here have been
smuggled into the country even though the phones are no longer
subject to import duty.

"A large number of cellular phones have been smuggled into the
country to evade the 2.5 percent income tax and 10 percent value
added tax that must be paid by importers," the chairman of the
Indonesian Association of Domestic Telecommunications Firms,
Rahardjo Tjakranigrat, told Bisnis Indonesia.

Rahardjo said businesspeople wanting to make big profits on
the sales of cellular phones were the main smugglers.

The distributors of the smuggled cellular phones cannot prove
that the income tax and value added tax on the phones has been
paid.

There are six major cellular phone brands sold on the domestic
market. They are Motorola, Ericsson, Nokia, Siemens, Philip and
Alcatel. Prices ranged from Rp 1.5 million (US$652) to Rp 2.5
million. (04)