Police pledge to review new vehicle tax rule
Police pledge to review new vehicle tax rule
JAKARTA (JP): National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. I Gusti
Ketut Ratta said the authorities will review the new policy
requiring motorists to put a special sticker on car license
plates as proof the yearly registration tax has been paid.
"The policy is now being reviewed by the police headquarters
to identify the problems in securing the special sticker, which
the public face," Ratta said on Tuesday.
City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto said the city
police will review the new policy due to growing public
complaints that the policy is inefficient and too complicated.
"If the new policy burdens the public so much, then we will
reassess it, or maybe we will even make some necessary changes,"
Hindarto said on Tuesday.
The new policy, which took effect on Sept. 17, requires
motorists, whose vehicle ownership documents (STNK) have expired,
to go to the Samsat (Vehicle Documents Service) office to obtain
special stickers, which must be put on their license plates.
Under the old policy, vehicle ownership documents were only
valid for one year. After a year, motorists would have to obtain
new license plates after paying the vehicle tax and other
required fees.
Under the new policy, vehicle documents and license plates are
valid for five years, but the motorist's annual obligation to pay
the tax and traffic accident insurance fees is unchanged.
The new policy also requires a motorist to pass through five
phases of procedures, handled at five different counters, to
obtain the new special sticker.
The complexity of the new policy is worsened by the city
revenue office's announcement requiring that people whose
automobile documents have expired should bring their
identification cards, previous car tax receipts, previous traffic
accident fund receipts and other documents needed to the Samsat
building in the police headquarters complex.
Public transportation vehicle owners must also have their
route permits, business permits, certificates of vehicle
inspection and previous traffic insurance receipts.
Hindarto said the five-phase procedure should be simplified
because the new policy should be simplifying the process.
Aberson
An even stronger remark on the matter was made by Aberson
Marle Sihaloho, a House of Representatives member from the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). He said that the additional
costs, such as the special sticker fee and the administrative
fees applied under the new policy are "unconstitutional".
"Collecting an extra fee from the process of a tax payment is
similar to collecting double taxes," he said, adding that the
practice should be stopped once and for all.
Councilor Helmy A.R. Syihab, head of the City Council's
Commission C on finance, said that the reassessment is a must
because the people's awareness of the need to pay tax should not
be frustrated by unreasonable bureaucratic procedures.
Councilor Helmy of the Golkar faction said that the police
should use the services of a bank to simplify the annual payment
of vehicle taxes.
"The people who want to pay the annual vehicle tax could go to
the bank and later on they could give the police the bank payment
receipt in order to get the new special sticker," he said.
He added that quick and convenient procedures for tax payment
would improve the people's sense of responsibility toward paying
their taxes. (03)