Customs office seized Rp 3t in illegal goods
Customs office seized Rp 3t in illegal goods
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Customs and Excise office is storing
illegally imported goods worth Rp 3 trillion (US$ 315.8 million)
seized over the past six months, its outgoing chief said on
Tuesday.
Office head Roy R. Lino told visiting members of City Council
Commission C for financial affairs most of the goods were not
equipped with appropriate invoices or brought into the country by
fake companies which imported electronic goods and luxury cars.
Among the seized goods were 130 used luxurious cars worth a
total of Rp 40 billion, Roy said at his office in Tanjung Priok
harbor, north Jakarta.
The cars, each worth between Rp 300 million to Rp 500 million,
are now kept in warehouses and containers belonging to Jakarta
International Container Terminal (JITC) and Pelabuhan Indonesia
II port operators.
Several Audi TT Coupe sport cars, Prado Land Cruiser, Mercedes
Benz, and many other used luxury cars are waiting for auction, as
the North Jakarta District Court is processing the cases.
"One of the invoices was attached to some diesel engines and
motorcycle spare parts, but when we checked the containers, we
found two Mercedes Benz cars behind the stacks of engines," Roy
said.
In another case, he added, the invoice stated that the goods
were imported by a certain company, but when the customs and
excise office requested import tax for the shipment, the firm
claimed to have never ordered the merchandise.
The Custom and Excise Office also seized electronic goods such
as TV and VCD sets and other merchandise mostly from Asia.
Roy said his office needs a plot of land on which storehouses
could be built to keep the goods pending a court ruling.
"We need at least 2 hectares of land to build warehouses near
our existing office," Roy said without elaborating.
Roy said during his six-month tenure, his office had revoked
the license of 300 importers for their involvement in counterfeit
documents, but only 30 of them met the requirements necessary to
go to trial.
He said the main problem was presenting evidence to the court,
which required summoning producers of imported goods to Jakarta,
while the fake company never showed up.
"It needs courage and consistency to uphold the law, because
smugglers are becoming more sophisticated in doing their
business," Roy said.
He said his office contributed Rp 4.1 trillion to state
revenue last year, and has set a target of Rp 6.2 trillion this
year.
Replacement
City councillors visited the port to inspect the harbor's
facilities and studied the possibility of taking over the port
management from central government in line with regional
autonomy.
Santayana Kiemas of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) predicted that incoming revenue from
the port's management could cover half the city annual budget.
Head of the commission, Amarullah Asbah, said due to his
achievement, the City Council should seek every avenue to keep
Roy in his current post.
Minister of Finance Prijadi Praptosuhardjo announced on Jan. 9
a major reshuffle in his office, which included the replacement
of Roy with Endang Tata.
"We must take our hats off to appreciate the good work of Roy.
We sincerely regret his replacement," said Amarullah.
He said Roy's substitution breached the spirit of regional
autonomy for failing to heed the wishes of the City Council.
"I have told Governor Sutiyoso to speak to central government
as the changing of officers must be informed to the city
administration and city council beforehand," Amarullah said.
Roy refused to comment on his removal, saying that his
replacement must have met the standards set for the post.
His replacement will be inducted on Feb. 5. (07)