PT Sucofindo to assist customs and excise office

PT Sucofindo to assist customs and excise office

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned surveyor company PT Sucofindo will
be involved in the inspection of imports, notably those related
to the post-audit of documents, when the new customs law comes
into effect next month, the company's president said.

Sucofindo President Moedjiono said over the weekend this would
start when the new customs law comes into effect on April 1.

The company's new responsibilities were underlined in a
memorandum of understanding signed between the Directorate
General of Customs and Excise and Sucofindo on Friday.

Last August, Sucofindo was assigned a three-year contract by
the finance ministry to inspect Indonesian exports.

Director General Soehardjo said that under the cooperation
agreement, Sucofindo would provide information, electronic data,
laboratory facilities, expertise, routine consultations to the
customs service and would launch an information campaign about
the new customs law directed at the business community.

But the overall supervision and responsibility would be in the
hands of the directorate general, he said.

Soehardjo said the cooperation was expected to speed up import
inspections.

Starting next month Indonesia will implement new customs
procedures -- which include self-assessment on duty and taxes,
on-arrival inspection and post-release audit -- to replace the
preshipment inspection system for imports which has been in place
for 12 years.

The preshipment inspection system is currently being
undertaken by state-owned PT Surveyor Indonesia.

The new procedures, known as the post audit system, will be
supervised by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise.

The signing of last week's agreement indicated that the post
audit system would be conducted by the directorate general with
help from Sucofindo, which has inspection offices at all of
Indonesia's main ports.

Moedjiono said Sucofindo would soon launch some concrete steps
to support the implementation of the new customs law.

"The new law's implementation... is the responsibility of not
only the Directorate General of Customs and Excise but of the
country as well," he said, as quoted by Antara.

He said this was not the first time Sucofindo had cooperated
with the directorate general.

"For 10 years, we have helped (the directorate general) to do
part of its job," Moedjiono said.

This has included helping the Directorate General of Customs
and Excise inspect exported goods that receive import duty
exemptions and duty and value added tax rebates, and verifying
the masterlists of capital goods for foreign and domestic
projects and the local component content of domestic automotive
assemblers.

Soehardjo said in the first phase of the cooperation
agreement, Sucofindo would only help inspect imports. (pwn)