New customs rulings issued to improve service

New customs rulings issued to improve service

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has issued three new regulations to improve
the country's customs services and to curb smuggling and fraud
during clearance.

The new rulings, which were made available to The Jakarta Post
on Wednesday, will take effect on Jan. 1, 2003.

Two regulations aim to ensure faster service for importers,
that is Ministerial Decree No. 453/2002 on import clearance
procedures and Ministerial Decree No. 455/2002 on the requirement
for appointed banks to handle the payment of duties and levies.

The other ruling, that is Ministerial Decree No. 454/2003 on
importer registration, is aimed at obtaining accurate data on
importers, identifying crooked ones and preventing them from
committing fraud in the future.

Novrial, the head of the customs reform program at the
directorate general of customs and excise, told The Post that the
regulations were part of the agency's ongoing reform program to
ensure the smooth flow of goods and to fight corruption and fraud
at the agency.

To simplify and speed up import clearance, Decree No. 453
obliges importers to make payments at appointed banks which are
on-line with the customs office and allow them to fill out
administrative papers through electronic media.

The decree also stipulates that air or sea forwarders have to
notify the customs office about imported goods within 24 hours
prior to the arrival of the carriers.

It also says that two years after importation, the customs
office can "verify" all notices of import (PIB) documents owned
by importers.

Decree No. 455 on appointed banks stipulates any bank can be
approved to handle payment of duties and levies as long as it has
facilities at all its branches which enable them to
electronically connect with the customs office.

"We have designed the payment system to make it as simple as
possible," said Nofrial.

With regards Decree No. 454 on importer registration, Nofrial
said through the registration, the agency expected to be able
identify smugglers or those who lied about the real value of
their imports.

To date, the agency has been relying on data provided by the
Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is the only institution
authorized to issue licenses to importers.

However, Nofrial said that a lot of data from the ministry was
misleading as many businessmen submitted fake addresses and
identities to obtain their licenses.

Through the registration, the customs office wants to verify
and update the data provided by the ministry.

Nofrial added importers could start registering their
companies on Nov. 11 at the customs' website www.beacukai.go.id.

Initially, the customs office planned to call all importers to
register themselves at the offices, but the plan was later
dropped over worries that the importers might collude with custom
officials.

After collecting data on importers, the agency will send its
officials to check out the addresses of all licensed importers
and examine their operations. The importers are then classified
into low or high risk categories.

After completing the registration, the customs office will
issue an SRP certificate stating that the holders have been
registered. The certificates will be sent via mail to importers.

Based on the decree, importers who fail to register by Jan. 1,
2003 will still be given one more chance for import clearance.
After that, the customs office will not provide them with
services.

Several importers contacted by the Post on Wednesday refused
to comment on the new rulings, saying they were not yet aware of
them.