Govt urged to get tough with THC violators
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government should impose strict sanctions, including a ban on entering Indonesia, against shipping lines that refuse to comply with a recently introduced regulation reducing the terminal handling charge (THC) they impose on traders, a domestic shipowners association says.
"If there are shipping lines charging more than US$95, exporters and importers should report them to the transportation ministry," said Indonesian Shipowners Association (INSA) chairman Oentoro Surya on Monday.
Oentoro said the government could revoke violators' licenses to operate in Indonesia to show it was serious in reducing the fee, one factor blamed by local traders for the high-cost economy.
Minister of Transportation Hatta Rajasa announced on Nov. 1 that the government had lowered THC from $150 to $95 per 20-foot container and from $230 to $145 per 40-foot container.
He added that his office had also instructed shipping lines to lower their administrative costs from $40 (about Rp 410,000) to Rp 100,000 per container.
Citing a recent study, the government said that with about six million 20-foot containers coming in and out of the country's ports each year, exporters and importers could save at least $350 billion a year with the lower fees.
Despite the announcement by the minister, there have been reports of importers and exporters being required to pay the old THC and administrative fees.
Foreign port subcontractors and shipping lines have objected to the proposed fees.
Port subcontractors have suggested the government remove a 10 percent value added tax imposed on all stevedoring charges at ports in Semarang and Surabaya in order to lower container handling charges (CHCs).
The CHC, imposed by port operators on shipping firms, is the main component for foreign shipping companies in deciding the amount of the terminal handling charge, which represents a burden on exporters and importers apart from the actual shipping costs.
The THC is a kind of surcharge a shipping line imposes on its customers, over and above the overall ocean freight rates, to help cover extra operational costs in terminals such as paying illegal fees to port operators and security officers.