DKI Provincial Government Ensures Transparent Investigation into Blok M Parking Permits and Taxes

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has assured that it will conduct a transparent examination regarding allegations of illegal parking in the Blok M area, South Jakarta. As is known, parking in the Blok M area was sealed by the Special Committee (Pansus) on Parking Management of the DKI Jakarta DPRD on Monday (11/5). “We are currently delving into this to confirm whether there is no permit or if it is still in process; that is what we are investigating together. We will provide updates and ensure everything is transparent,” said Deputy Coordinator of the Governor’s Special Staff, Yustinus Prastowo, at City Hall, Jakarta, on Tuesday. However, he could not yet confirm if the parking lacks an official permit and is non-compliant with parking tax payments. According to him, the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency (Dishub) along with the Regional Revenue Agency (Bapenda) are currently conducting further checks on the permits and the mechanism for collecting parking taxes in the area. The parking operator in the Blok M area is estimated to generate revenue of up to Rp100 million per day. The magnitude of this potential revenue is considered reasonable because the Blok M area is always crowded with visitors, both on weekdays and weekends, with various destinations such as culinary centres and entertainment hubs. However, the Chairman of the Special Committee (Pansus) on Parking of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Ahmad Lukman Jupiter, stated that the levies received by the government from the parking operator are suspected to be inconsistent with the actual turnover. He said that over the past three years, the parking operator is alleged to have conducted illegal collections from visitors because the financial reports submitted to the government do not match the on-the-ground conditions. In fact, Jupiter estimates that the state has suffered losses of up to Rp50 billion over 15 years of parking management by the operator Best Parking.