EDI system needs more time for full operation in RI
By Riyadi
JAKARTA (JP): It may take years for the planned paperless customs service, using an electronic data interchange (EDI) system, to become fully operational.
Overseas experience says it will be at least 18 months before the EDI system can handle significant document exchange.
And experts have suggested that it would take even more time to implement EDI in Indonesia, which is still novice at handling it.
"Looking at our current condition, it will be several years before we can fully exchange documents electronically," said Maman Surachman, head of the EDI project at publicly listed Bank Bali, one of three banks involved in Indonesia's customs EDI pilot project.
The Directorate General of Customs and Excise plans to launch the paperless customs service as pilot projects at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port and Soekarno-Hatta airport on April 1, when the 1995 customs law comes into force.
The plan will only succeed with commitment and support from all participants, with the government playing a pivotal role of support and encouragement.
Experts have warned that no party in Indonesia's trading community has any practical EDI experience.
It won't be easy for them to subscribe to EDI, adapt their existing operations, standards and computer systems or train their staff.
Many of them -- notably local shipping companies, importers, textile-related firms and auto firms -- have openly expressed their reservations abut joining the system.
Most of them were reluctant to invest much in EDI infrastructure while they were unconvinced of its benefits.
Subsidized
To encourage more companies to enter the EDI program, the government has decided to subsidize their EDI operations for one year.
Subsidies include the provision of translator software, importer modules, training, hardware installations and one-year free-of-charge traffic use.
Traffic charges include monthly fees of Rp 100,000 (US$41.60), volume usage fees of Rp 550 for 1,000 characters an address every document, data storage fees of Rp 550 for 1000 characters a day (counted after five days), interconnection fees of Rp 550 for 1,000 characters and fax gateway fees of Rp 550 for 1,000 characters (excluding telecommunication fees).
EDI bring substantial benefits to organizations which implement it. EDI reduces delays caused by postal paper chains and avoids re-keying of data, thereby saving time and reducing errors.
EDI also cuts the costs of creating, recording and storing paper documents and records. It facilitates shorter lead times and reduces administrative costs.
Many businesses have chosen EDI as a fast, inexpensive and safe method of sending purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices and other frequently used business documents.
EDI has been successfully used for trade facilitation in some countries, covering transactions between importers, exporters, customs, banks, ports, shippers, freight forwarders, agents and brokers.
The implementation of EDI in Indonesia is expected to help expedite the clearance of imported goods from customs areas when the combination of on-arrival inspections of imports and post- entry audits are enforced from April 1.
The system is designed to reduce personal contact between customs officials and businesspeople and consequently cut red tape and minimize the possibility of collusion between officials and businesspeople.
But mixed experiences of EDI systems, their introductory problems in some countries and their failure in countries like Hong Kong have underscored the need for careful planning and sufficient time for preparations.
It is not necessary for a sender and receiver to have identical document processing systems for EDI. When a document is sent, EDI translation software converts its format into an agreed standard. When the document is received the EDI translation software automatically changes the standard format into the format of the receiver's document processing software.
A United Nations body has developed EDI standards, called UN/EDIfact (the United Nations Rules for Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport).
EDI standards define a set of "message types," which generally correspond to familiar physical documents.
For trade facilitation, such standards would include customs declarations (CUSDEC), customs responses (CUSRES), conveyance reports (CUSREP), cargo manifestos (CUSCAR), payment authorizations from agents (PAYORD), pre-credit advice from agent banks to customs (CREADV) and invoice messages (INVOIC).
These standards are broad and complex, and often vague. Within a single EDI community, a simplified usage and agreed interpretation must be agreed before implementation. Typically this is done by a consultative body representing parties in an EDI community.
The Asia EDIfact Board has also been established to guide, stimulate and promote the development and use of UN/EDIFACT standards in its Asian member countries or economies.
The board's members include China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
But only Singapore and Japan seem to have fully implemented the system for customs or trade.
It took Singapore more than four years to set up an operational EDI system in 1989. This was achieved with substantial commitment and backing from the government, superb infrastructure, a compact geographical zone and a disciplined and educated trade community.
Difficult
It will be difficult for less-developed and more complex countries like Indonesia to match Singapore's achievements in the foreseeable future but the Singaporean model does offer challenging directions and possibilities.
Indonesia, in its effort to implement EDI for trade facilitation, set up advisory and executive teams only last year to implement EDI customs message and integration guidelines.
The advisory team is headed by Director General of Customs and Excise Soehardjo Soebardi and includes representatives from the ministries of finance, transportation, industry and trade, the central bank and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The executive team is headed by Eddy Abdurrachman, the chief of the directorate general's electronic data processing and information center. Its members include representatives of government offices and private companies such as importers, shipping companies and banks.
To support the program, state-owned telecommunications firm PT Indosat and state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan II have set up a provider, PT EDI Indonesia, to run the system for customs services.
The system will electronically connect the customs office, as the system's core, to all related parties, including port and airport authorities, shipping companies, importers, freight forwarders, banks, tax offices and the state treasury.
Not all parties will be electronically connected to the customs office during the pilot project to be launched April 1.
The pilot project will only connect the customs office to the Jakarta port and airport authorities, 23 importers, five shipping companies and three foreign exchange banks.