Complaints about new customs service starts

JAKARTA (JP): Businesspeole are complaining that container freight flows through Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya, East Java, and Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta are being hindered by slow customs clearance.

"Since the restoration of the customs inspection service on April 1, cargo flows through our ports have become much slower, resulting in higher handling and storage costs," said Tarjono, a spokesman for state-owned port management company PT Pelabuhan III.

"We don't want to be blamed by shippers or carriers for the slower freight loading and unloading operations when the main reason has been inadequate customs clearance."

Tarjono said he could understand there would be initial delays as the customs service had only just regained its inspection authority. It replaces the preshipment inspection system of imports which was introduced in 1985.

"But this problem should be solved soon, otherwise congestion may threaten the Tanjung Perak port," he added.

He said Tanjung Perak handled 800 to 1,200 containers of imports a day.

Tarjono blamed the slow customs clearance partly on the large volume of imports which had to go through the red lane, meaning they had to be physically inspected by customs officials.

"Ideally, only 10 percent of import consignments should go through the red lane. But at Tanjung Perak port, 46 percent of the consignments have to be inspected," Tarjono was quoted by Antara as saying.

Bisnis Indonesia newspaper quoted a customs broker at Tanjung Priok port as complaining that customs clearance procedures through the customs' electronic data interchange (EDI) system took between two and five days, much longer than the four hours promised by customs last month.

However customs officials argued that the slow clearance was caused by differences between the data as stipulated in the cargo manifests and those in the customs declaration forms.

The newspaper quoted several shippers and customs brokers, who insisted on anonymity, as cautioning that the slow customs clearance, if not expedited, could soon cause major congestion at the port.

"The customs service ran smoothly only during the first week and after that everything seemed to go very slowly," one businessman said.

Several customs brokers were quoted by the newspapers as disclosing that customs clearance could be completed in two days only if they bribed customs officials.

"Without bribes, the process takes up to five days," a customs broker complained.

Another importer said he submitted his customs declaration forms on a diskette (to be processed at the EDI system) on April 16 but only obtained customs clearance on April 21.

"Lack of data processing equipment and competent EDI system operators also contribute to the slow customs clearance," the importer said. (vin)