New customs rules worry Europe and U.S.
New customs rules worry Europe and U.S.
JAKARTA (JP): European, American and South Korean businessmen
have expressed great concern about the new customs clearance
rules the Indonesian government plans to implement in April.
"If their preparations are not right and adequate, new
problems may arise," cautioned C.K. Song, chairman of the Korean
Businessmen Association in Indonesia.
Song, the president of two major shoe factories in Tangerang,
West Java, was commenting on the April implementation of the new
customs law, which will introduce selective on-arrival
inspections of imports and post-entry auditing of documents.
A senior diplomat at the European Union's representative
office said European businesses were concerned with the plan to
introduce the new system in place of the pre-shipment inspection
system currently used.
"The monthly meeting of the embassies of the 15 EU member
countries last month devoted a great deal of attention to that
matter," added the diplomat who insisted on anonymity.
He said his office had met with the customs chief to convey
its concerns.
"But it is entirely up to the Indonesian government to decide
what system it will enforce. What is important to us and other
businessmen is that import flows should remain as smooth,
efficient as they have been over the past 11 years," he said.
"We know for sure that state-owned PT Surveyor Indonesia has
been doing its job well," added Song. "I hope everything will be
all right and smooth under the new system."
The government decided to end PT Surveyor Indonesia's contract
in April but it has yet to decide if it will retain or end the
pre-shipment inspection of imports at points of loading overseas.
The European diplomat said the efficient flow of imports was
critical to Indonesia's economic growth because the country's
manufacturing industry mainly depends on imported basic and
intermediate materials while investment projects rely almost
entirely on imported capital goods.
James Castle, chairman of the Business Advisory Indonesia
consulting company, added that he had also heard a lot of concern
about the new customs rules which would return import inspection
authority to the customs service.
"But that, I think, is simply natural because most businessmen
have been quite content with the present system," Castle noted.
The American consultant said businesses were not sure if
customs officials had changed their attitude and work behavior
from those before 1985, when the pre-shipment inspection system
was introduced.
According to Castle, businesses also fear that so many major
changes will be introduced at the same time in April.
"The new customs rules and the technical preparations which
the customs office claims to have made so far look all right. But
our problem usually lies in implementation," noted Barens
Saragih, secretary-general of the Indonesian National Shipowners
Association.
Customs and Excise Duty Director General Soehardjo, however,
has repeatedly assured the business community that his office was
prepared for the change.
"We have prepared our human resources and have installed all
the necessary equipment to ensure the smooth handling of import
inspection," Soehardjo said last week.
Soehardjo even pledged smoother import flows given that the
customs office would be linked electronically to related
companies through an electronic date interchange.
But many analysts continue to wonder if the customs service
will be any more efficient or effective than other government
offices if the salaries of customs officials remain at the same
level of other civil servants. (vin)