Private firms invited for stamp printing
Private firms invited for stamp printing
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications
Joop Ave proposed yesterday that the Ministry of Finance allow
private firms to print duty stamps to prevent another supply
shortage.
"There are many private firms which are already able to print
papers such as share certificates illustrated with hologram
motifs," he said after a hearing with Commission V of the House
of Representative.
Joop, referring to the duty stamp crisis in several cities
over the past few weeks, said that some private firms are also
able to print duty stamps.
The government has thus far assigned only the state-owned
Perum Peruri to print banknotes and securities papers and
appointed the state-owned postal company PT Pos Indonesia as the
sole distributor.
Director General of Post and Telecommunications Djakaria
Purawidjaja, who accompanied Joop in yesterday's hearing, said it
was time for the Ministry of Finance to allow private firms to
participate in duty stamp printing as the capacity of Perum
Peruri is limited.
The shortage of supplies occurred after the government, under
a decree effected in the third quarter of this year, decided to
increase the nominal value of duty stamps from Rp 500 (22 U.S.
cents) to Rp 1,000 for transactions worth Rp 250,000 (US$110) up
to Rp 1 million (US$440) and from Rp 1,000 to Rp 2,000 for
transactions valued more than Rp 1 million. Checks must carry
duty stamps of Rp 1,000 (as compared to Rp 500 previously), while
documents of agreements must have stamps of Rp 2,000 (Rp 1,000).
The president of Pos Indonesia, Cahyana Ahmadi, said that his
company has set up a special team to distribute new duty stamps
to 30 locations in 24 cities in the country.
Cahyana said that duty stamp sales surged from 67 million
pieces in the second quarter of this year to 103 million pieces
in the third quarter.
"From Sep. 4 to Sep. 11, we distributed 2.79 million duty
stamps of Rp 2,000 and 2.29 million stamps of Rp 1,000," he said.
He also said that even though there is no longerca rush at
major post offices, one person is allowed to buy a maximum of 25
duty stamps per transaction. (icn)