PT Timor managed by government

PT Timor managed by government

I once read in a Jakarta daily that Minister of Industry and
Trade Rahardi Ramelan said that if by March 26, 1999, PT Timor
Putera Nasional (PT TPN) had not settled its tax debt amounting
to Rp 3.029 trillion, its assets would be managed by the
government. It is not clear, however, what is meant by "managed".

It should be noted that Law No. 19/1999 stipulates a provision
on the procedure for tax collection with a distress warrant. If
after the issuance of a distress warrant the tax debt is still
unpaid, the taxpayer's fixed and movable assets may be
confiscated by a tax agency. If the tax debt is still owing even
after asset confiscation, the assets will be publicly auctioned
through the State Auction Office. It should also be noted that in
the case of PT TPN, only the assets owned by this company would
be confiscated, not the entire PT TPN as a statutory body plus
all its rights and liabilities. PT TPN would continue to exist
until pronounced bankrupt by a court of law at the request of the
debtors. If the government wishes to control the assets of PT
TPN, it must purchase them through the auction and cannot simply
control them. In this case, the government must weigh thoroughly
the advantages and the disadvantages of managing or taking over
PT TPN because the company has huge debts. Of course, Tommy
Soeharto would be very glad if the government wished to manage or
control PT TPN. He would then no longer need to find ways to
settle the company's huge debts as all the company's liabilities
would be taken over by the government. In this case, the
employees of the company would also be happy because they would
not be laid off.

Does the government really wish to help Tommy Soeharto? Is it
because PT TPN was a national project initiated by former
president Soeharto? One may guess, then, that the imposition of
the Rp 3.029 trillion tax is only a hidden way to help out PT
TPN, 99 percent of whose shares are in the hands of Tommy
Soeharto. The Indonesian people and the House of Representatives
must exercise caution against the government's action in this
respect as otherwise the state and the people will be
disadvantaged.

SUHARSONO HADIKUSUMO

Jakarta