Germany worried about new govt ruling on customs
Germany worried about new govt ruling on customs
JAKARTA (JP): Most German businesspeople here are concerned
about the government's plan to replace preshipment import
inspections with on-arrival import inspections, a foreign
official said.
"Most of them have expressed their great concern over whether
the new system would still guarantee a smooth and fast flow of
imported goods to this country," Andreas E Warburg, the head of
Trade and Cooperation of German-Indonesian Chamber of Industry
and Commerce (Ekonid), said yesterday.
He said businesspeople preferred preshipment inspections
because it had already proved it could guarantee a smooth and
fast flow of imports to Indonesia.
He said the German businesspeople were now in a wait-and-see
position on what's going to happen.
He said the businesspeople were uncertain about the impact of
the new system on imports from Germany.
Ekonid's latest figures show Indonesia's imports from Germany
in 1995 were worth 2.1 billion DM (US$1.27 billion), while its
exports were only 1.89 billion DM
"It would be better for the time being to postpone this new
system. This is right. But it is also understandable from the
Indonesian side that they want to have this implemented," he
said.
He said the directorate general of customs and excise should
simplify its bureaucratic procedures to shorten import clearance
time and improve its staff.
Corruption was rampant among customs officials before
preshipment inspections were introduced in June, 1985 but he said
it was necessary to "differentiate between corruption and service
fees, which include unexpected costs. Most businesspeople here
usually allocate about 10 percent of their investment for service
fees."
Most Indonesian and foreign businesspeople are worried about
the status of preshipment inspection with a new customs law
taking effect in April.
They are particularly worried about the high cost economy
corrupt customs officials could cause.
The new law will restore responsibility for import inspection
authority to the customs office and introduce selective on-
arrival import inspections, post-entry audits of import documents
and a self-assessment system for calculating import duties.
Last week Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad said the new
1995 customs law must come into action on April 1, although some
technical matters could be adjusted after the date.
But the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry asked for
a three-to-six-month transition period before the law was fully
enforced.
The Chairman of the Indonesian Importers Association,
Amiruddin Saud, was also worried the new system might delay the
flow of imports.
He said a longer transition period was needed before the new
law was fully enforced.
"Three to six months is not enough for the customs office to
fully handle the new system. It should not be fully enforced
until 2003 as preparations in the customs office had been
inadequate," he said. (bnt)