New ruling on reforestation fees
JAKARTA (JP): The government is to revise the collection system of reforestation fees from timber companies to avoid late payments, a senior official at the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations said on Wednesday.
Director General of Forest Utilization Harnanto H. Martosiswojo said timber companies would now be obliged to pay the reforestation funds in advance and not after they sold their logs or wood products.
"We are still discussing the revision but it has been reported to the minister of finance to get his approval," Harnanto said after opening a forestry seminar.
"The old payment system has resulted in a huge amount of unpaid funds," he said, adding that unpaid reforestation funds had reached Rp 133 billion (US$12 million) since April last year.
Harnanto said the government was also considering requiring timber companies to deposit a certain amount of money as a guarantee that they would pay the reforestation funds and other forestry levies on time.
Minister of Forestry and Plantations Muslimin Nasution said separately on Wednesday that he would reveal the names of the timber companies who had delayed paying their reforestation fees.
"I will reveal their names in early October. I hope that the threat will force them to pay their obligations on time," he said.
The reforestation fund is a mandatory fee imposed by the government on forest concessionaires to ensure that forests are managed in an environmentally sustainable manner. The size of the fee depends on the volume and type of timber felled.
Since April 1, the government has accounted for reforestation funds, collected from timber companies, in the state budget as nontax receipts. Previously, the funds were transferred into the Ministry of Forestry's bank account and its allocation was governed by presidential decree.
Muslimin also said that his office expected to collect Rp 1.35 trillion in reforestation funds in the 1999/2000 fiscal year, up 20 percent from the Rp 1.13 trillion forecast this fiscal year. (gis)