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)