Import rules

Import rules

This is in reference to Mr. A. Djuana's letter under the
caption Mr. A and Mr. B published in "Your Letters" column of The
Jakarta Post dated July 22, 1995. According to Mr. Djuana, A was
deprived of a substantial amount of money by the cunning of Mr. B
with the active connivance of B's overseas associate.

The story appears to be a mere concoction and far removed from
reality. The simple reason is that all imports into Indonesia
have to be inspected before shipment in the country of the
shipper by SGS who have been appointed by the government and
their services paid for by the government. Without a pre-shipment
inspection report (LPS) the documents which constitute the
authority for the overseas bank to disburse funds under a letter
of credit are not complete. The letter of credit has to
specifically stipulate the requirement of a pre-inspection report
(LPS) by SGS (for shipments over $5,000). Every importer knows
this rule and hence "A", the so-called importer, should also have
known it as well.

Hence there is no possibility whatsoever of a shipment of the
magnitude of say $1 million being effected under an L/C without
the LPS. I am sure "A" is a shrewd and intelligent businessman
(as businessmen usually are) and knows the rules of the game. The
inference naturally is that the story narrated by Mr. Djuana is a
figment of his imagination and people in business are certainly
not as naive as Mr. Djuana presumes. Next time Mr. Djuana should
take care to narrate stories which are more realistic.

S. LAKSHMINARAYAN

Kudus, Central Java