Inspection of air cargo by surveyors urged
Inspection of air cargo by surveyors urged
JAKARTA (JP): Importers, doubting the quality of local customs
services, are proposing that the government continue allowing a
private surveyor company to inspect imported air cargo at their
points of loading.
"To avoid stagnation of goods, the government, which now plans
to assign customs offices to inspect imported air cargoes at
Indonesian airports beginning early next month, should allow
importers to choose another alternative," Chairman of Importers
Association of Indonesia Amirudin Saud told The Jakarta Post
yesterday.
The government, under the deregulatory measures it announced
on May 23, declared that imports of any value transported by air
must be inspected by customs offices at airports beginning on
July 1.
The new policy revises a Presidential decree issued in 1985,
which said that imports worth more than US$5,000 could be
inspected by a designated surveyor company at points of loading.
Importers were then given the freedom to choose such a pre-
shipment inspection or have their goods, if valued at $5,000 or
less, inspected by customs offices at points of unloading.
Amirudin said that according to regulation, customs offices
are required to finish goods inspection within four hours.
"But so far, we need seven to 10 days to have our goods of
less than $5,000 inspected by customs offices," he said. "If we
give some bribes, such inspections can be finished within three
days."
"This indicates that on-arrival inspection by customs offices
has raised cost of imports," he said.
Furthermore, data used by customs offices to verify imported
goods are frequently irrelevant or out-dated, he added.
He said importers doubt whether the government's new policy on
the on-arrival inspections will help expedite the flow of goods
at airports.
As a result, his association sent letters to nine ministers on
Monday proposing that the government allow importers the
alternative of having their goods inspected by a surveyor at
points of loading.
The government has assigned PT Surveyor Indonesia, an
Indonesian-Swiss joint venture, to inspect Indonesia's imports at
points of loading. But the company, due to its limited
capability, has assigned the Geneva-based Societe Generale de
Surveillance (SGS) to carry out some of its inspection jobs at a
number of points of loading.
"In response to our letter, we have heard that the government
will assign its deregulation team to consider our proposal,"
Amirudin said. "We hope the government accepts our proposal and
announces its decision before July 1, the date for the
implementation of the May 23 policy concerning goods inspection."
(riz)