House supports calls for pre-shipment inspection system on imports

House supports calls for pre-shipment inspection system on imports

Adianto P.Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Responding to reports of rampant smuggling and under-voicing
of imports, the House of Representatives has asked the government
to award imports inspection to state-owned surveyor firm PT
Superintending Company of Indonesia (Sucofindo) and PT Surveyor
Indonesia, a legislator said on Monday.

"We are very disappointed with the performance of the customs
office," Irmadi Lubis, a legislator of House Commission V
overseeing industry and trade affairs told The Jakarta Post.

Irmadi said that the commission had also proposed the
reestablishment of the pre-shipment inspection system.

"We have also proposed to the government to apply a risk
management system in import transactions," he said, adding that
the concept is basically the same as pre-shipment inspection.

Under the proposed system, Sucofindo and Surveyor Indonesia
will inspect imported goods at the port of origin based on a
classification system.

"The concept is almost the same as the pre-shipment inspection
system, but there will be certain classifications and not all
importers will be inspected," he said.

His comments followed similar demands from the Indonesian
Importers Association (Ginsi) made during a meeting last week
with President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Ginsi said that the state had suffered massive losses from the
under-invoicing of import prices made possible by collusion
between importers and corrupt customs officials.

According to a recent study conducted by the University of
Indonesia, most importers (82 percent) want the government to
reinstate the pre-shipment inspection system.

In 1985, the government applied a pre-shipment inspection
system on imports and awarded the contract to Societe General de
Surveillance (SGS) amid massive corruption at the country's
customs office.

But the government ended the contract in 1995 following the
implementation of the 1995 Customs Law, and import inspection
authority was returned to the customs office.

There have been growing calls for the government to use the
expertise of SGS for pre-shipment inspection work.

But Irmadi said that legislators did not want to see SGS run
the inspection job alone.

He said that the authority should be given to Sucofindo and
Surveyor Indonesia.