DHL replies

Johanes Hartono sent a letter to The Jakarta Post, a copy of which was sent to DHL for comment. In his letter, Hartono made an accusation that DHL falsely demanded duties for a shipment imported on his behalf. We would like to reply to his letter as follows:

It is a fact that most goods, other than documents, attract duty upon import in almost all countries -- Indonesia is no exception. The amount of duty depends upon the value of the goods, hence these shipments are usually referred to as "dutiable" shipments.

In certain cases, if particular conditions are fulfilled and the paperwork provided by the shipper clearly supports these conditions, then articles can be exempted from duties. In this case, the paperwork supplied by Hartono's shipper was headed "Commercial Invoice" and made no mention of any such conditions. Therefore, clearance was completed according to the regulations laid down by Indonesian customs and the duty was paid by DHL on Hartono's behalf. Naturally, we expect him to repay this amount to us.

We sincerely regret that Hartono feels he has been treated incorrectly. We remain available for a sensible dialogue should he wish to recommence direct communication. It is in both our interests to find a solution to this impasse.

ALAN CASSELS, Senior Technical Advisor, DHL (PT Birotika Semesta), Jakarta