Low paid customs officials could hinder trade: WCO

Low paid customs officials could hinder trade: WCO

JAKARTA (JP): The World Customs Organization (WCO) warned
yesterday that overworked and underpaid customs officials could
bring about negative impacts on a country's international trade.

WCO secretary-general James W. Shaver told Indonesian customs
officials attending a workshop here that other customs factors
affecting a country's trade performance would be outdated and
inefficient customs laws and practices.

"One of the obstacles to expanded trade has been and still is
outdated and inefficient customs laws and practices, overworked
and underpaid customs officials and a lack of attention to the
positive role that a customs administration can play in
international trade," Shaver said.

When asked, he declined to scrutinize Indonesia's custom
administration. "I'm probably not an expert on Indonesia's
customs performance."

Many local and foreign businesspeople here think underpaid
civil servants, including front-line customs officials, would not
be able to resist bribes and corruption. Besides, the climate
which previously made the customs service corrupt has not changed
much.

Most businesses are not convinced that the new customs
services would be corrupt-free, especially in view of the amount
of corruption in almost all government agencies.

Customs director Permana Agung has asked for budget autonomy
to make the customs administration highly accountable and
responsible.

Shaver underlined the need for customs administrations
anywhere in the world to play a new role as trade facilitator --
in addition to their roles in the protection of society and
revenue collection for the government.

"I think the concept of customs service is very, very good
indeed because we are being a service to the government and a
service to the private sector" Shaver told customs officials at
the workshop.

He agreed with the Indonesian finance minister's plans to
reduce the level of bureaucracy at customs administration and to
change the current name of the customs inspection office to the
customs service unit.

"I think that's right, because a bureaucratic approach is
delaying, prolonging and finding reasons not to do something
rather than reasons to do it and do it properly.

"The U.S. Customs is called U.S. Customs Service. It used to
be the U.S Customs Bureau. It was changed to service several
years ago to change back to the image that we are to service the
government and the public," the secretary-general said.

Shaver also commended Indonesia's efforts to introduce the new
customs law and procedures, apply various conventions under the
WCO and reform its customs administration to better service the
private sector.

"I think the steps that Indonesia has been taking right now
are in line with global trade ... It's very impressive to me that
they are now applying the conventions of the WCO," Shaver said.

To facilitate global trade, the WCO encourages its members to
subscribe to the harmonized system for the description and
classification of goods, the World Trade Organization code for
customs valuation based on transaction value, the Kyoto
Convention on customs procedures and the Nairobi Convention on
customs compliance and enforcement.

Indonesia plans to implement all the systems and conventions
when it implements on April 1 the new customs procedures, which
include self-assessment on duty and taxes, on-arrival inspection
and post-release audit.

Currently Indonesia still uses the preshipment inspection
system for imports, which has been in place for 12 years. The
system was introduced due to then corrupt customs services.

Shaver said some 35 countries of WCO's 139 member countries
still practiced preshipment inspections for their imports, in
which imports were checked at points of loading by designated
surveyor firms.

He said WCO was pursuing a reforming modernization program for
customs administrations in its member countries, especially those
still using the preshipment system, so that they would be able to
resume their inspection authority from preshipment surveyor
companies.

WCO was established in Brussels in 1950 as the Customs
Cooperation Council. Currently it has 139 countries as members.
Each country is represented by its head of the customs
administration. Indonesia became a member of the WCO in 1957.
(rid)