Customs officials told not to repeat past failure
Customs officials told not to repeat past failure
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad warned
yesterday that any failure in the implementation of the customs
self-assessment of imports under the post-audit system could
become a political embarrassment for the government.
"If the clearance of imports under the post-audit system is
not as efficient and as smooth as under the current pre-shipment
inspection system it would be a big political embarrassment for
the government," Mar'ie told the working conference of the
Directorate General of Customs and Excise Duty.
The minister said that the directorate general should
therefore prepare itself thoroughly for its new task when the
customs law comes into force next April.
"If necessary, the directorate general should start trial
operations of the post-audit system two months before April to
show how ready is it to perform its job," he added.
The government body, known for its corruption-ridden
bureaucracy, was stripped of its customs inspection authority in
the middle of 1985 as a result of the introduction of the pre-
shipment inspection system.
This service, hailed by businessmen as the most efficient way
of handling import flows, was initially provided by the Geneva-
based Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS). But the job was
taken over in 1991 by a state-owned company, PT Surveyor
Indonesia, and SGS has since been acting as a sub-contractor for
the state company.
Mar'ie said that he had decided to terminate the contract with
PT Surveyor Indonesia in April in coincidence with the
implementation of the new customs law.
However, the government has yet to make up its mind as to
whether the pre-shipment inspection system, which is based on a
presidential decree, will be continued under the new customs law.
Domestic and foreign businessmen, still traumatized by the
red-tape and rampant corrupt practices within the directorate
general in the past, have appealed to the government to continue
the present system.
The Indonesian Importers Association has even suggested that
businesspeople are willing to pay the inspection fee if financing
restraints are the main reasons for the restoration of the post-
audit system.
The minister reiterated the importance of smooth import flows
to enhance the competitive edge of Indonesian exports in view of
the heavy dependence of the manufacturing sector on imported
basic and intermediate materials.
Director General of Customs and Excise Soehardjo Soebardi said
the harmonization of the customs procedures in ASEAN countries
requires a post-audit system.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
Apart from Indonesia, the Philippines also enforces the pre-
shipment inspection system for its imports. The service is also
conducted by SGS, the world's largest goods inspection service
company. (hen)