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)