A government policy that allows the import of particular restricted commodities through Dumai Port, Riau, has allegedly been misused, prompting the customs office to ask the Trade Ministry for a review of the policy.
Director general of customs and excise, Anwar Supriadi, said his office had received reports that licenses issued by the Trade Ministry for the importation of food and beverage have been used to import limited imported goods through the port.
"It is urgent that the Trade Ministry's foreign trade directorate general evaluate the situation as soon as possible," Anwar said during an official visit to the port on Monday.
Based on Trade Minister Regulation No. 56/2008, as of February this year, the import of five commodities in question - socks, electronic goods, kid's toys, garments and food and beverage - is restricted to five ports: Belawan (Medan), Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Tanjung Emas (Semarang), Tanjung Perak (Surabaya) and Soekarno-Hatta (Makassar).
However, an exception was given to the Dumai Port through a decree issued by the trade ministry's foreign trade directorate general. The exception, according to Anwar, was provided to accommodate PT Chevron, which operates in Dumai.
"But the special privileges were abused, so that products other than foods and beverages, have been freely entering the country through the port," Anwar said.
He added he was against the idea of giving the port such an exception from the start. "But, we just could not ignore the trade ministry's decision," he said.
He said an evaluation was urgently needed in order to ensure that the limited import policy's objectives -to protect domestic products from imported goods, especially illegal ones - was met.
"Unless something is done about it the state will also suffer financial losses," Anwar said.
Sources said importers have been playing hide and seek in efforts to import the limited imported goods through Dumai so as to avoid the high tariffs charged at the Belawan Port. Electronic goods and garments are the most frequently illegally imported goods because of either illegal ports, known as "mice ports", or corrupt officials.
"The goods can be imported through the illegal ports, of course, with the help of money given to the right people," Anwar said, adding that the tariffs imposed on such goods should be made the same at all of the country' ports so that importers have no excuse to avoid paying them.
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