Customs office to audit importers

Starting next week, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise will send out officials to check on the addresses of all licensed importers and examine their operations.

The move is part of the agency's efforts to improve its data on the country's importers, and to curb smuggling and tax fraud by unscrupulous importers, Novrial, head of the customs reform program, said on Thursday.

Based on the data collected, the directorate general would identify importers who were prone to smuggling or lying about the real value of their imports.

To date, the agency has been relying on data provided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is the only institution authorized to issue licenses to importers.

Through the survey, the customs office wants to verify and update the data provided by the ministry.

Industry players said that a lot of the data from the ministry was misleading as many businessmen submitted fake addresses and identities to obtain their licenses.

During the first phase, the registration process would be focused on importers with addresses in Jakarta and West Java, who, according to the agency's data, numbered at least 4,000.

The customs agency would field 300 inspectors to carry out the survey. -- JP