New parking fees target wealthy motorists

New parking fees target wealthy motorists

JAKARTA (JP): Motorists beware, those of you parking at
parking lots run by PT Securindo Packatama may be subject to not
only the published hourly fees, but also encumbered by newly
imposed taxes and other questionable fees.

At the parking lots run by the company at Le Meridien and the
Mandarin Oriental Hotels, motorists since July 1 have had to pay
an additional 10 percent tax on top of the regular parking fees.

While still uncommon in most parking lots, including those run
and managed by the city administration, the application of the 10
percent value added tax is based on Tax Law No. 8/1983.

Thus if a vehicle owner usually pays Rp 3,000 for parking,
that person would now have to pay an extra Rp 300 for the tax.

While the extra charge may irk consumers, it is still
nonetheless legal.

What immediately raises eyebrows is that the company, for the
sake of "convenience", often rounds-off the price upwards.

An official at PT Securindo Packatama admitted that such a
practice was going on, contending that it was more convenient
than having to supply an ample amount of small change.

An official at PT Securindo Packatama, who asked not to be
named, warned that vehicle owners could be inconvenienced with
long car queues if the amount was not rounded off.

"It could cause traffic jams inside the parking lot because
both the parking attendant and the customer would be scrambling
for coins," the company officials told The Jakarta Post.

The official argued that coins are difficult to find and
parking attendants are likely to make wrong calculations.

The official explained that the "extra" money went directly to
the company's coffers to cover losses caused by people who park
for more than four hours.

Since July the company has applied the new "arrangement" at
the two hotels based on the assumption that those who use the
parking services at these venues "would not feel burdened with
having to shell out the additional amount."

"These people usually come from the middle to upper class;
it's not a huge figure to them," the official contended.

There is a possibility that the company may also apply such
arrangements to other parking lots it manages.

But such practices are receiving strong criticism from the
Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) and city officials.

Tulus Abadi, a member of YLKI's advocation team, said whatever
reason was being given by the company it was merely "a weak
excuse."

"It isn't fair to burden consumers like that. Besides, it is
unclear where the money goes," he charged.

YLKI also contends that private parking companies should be
paying the VAT themselves and not burden customers.

"Parking is a public service, therefore, the public should not
be taxed for it," Tulus told the Post.

PT Securindo Packatama is still contemplating whether or not
to impose the new calculation on all of their lots.

"People who go to the mall, for example, might not have the
same financial means as those who visit five-star hotels," the
manager said.

According to the city's parking department, the administration
has stipulated that parking fees should not be more than Rp 1,000
per hour.

"Companies who charge parking fees of more than Rp 1,000 are
violating this regulation," Syukuri Bey, head of the city parking
department told the Post.

Overall, vehicle owners in the near future may have to dig
deeper into their pockets as the city parking department has
proposed to the city council an additional 20 percent parking tax
for "off the street" motorists.

"Off the street" motorists are vehicles parked inside a
building, as opposed to vehicles parked on the street.

The city administration currently oversees 350 privately run
parking companies.

Commenting on PT Securindo Packatama's new calculation at the
Le Meridien hotel, one motorist remarked: "It's not just about
the money; consumers were not notified about this and I don't see
a better service being provided to the consumer." (04/06)