Regulation on dangerous substances to be revised
JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to relax the disputed regulation on the importation of goods considered hazardous to health.
The Director General for Drug and Food Control of the Ministry of Health, Wisnu Katim, said yesterday that in the future, not all imported hazardous substances would have to be reported to the ministry.
Wisnu said the government would amend a ministerial decree issued in 1983, which requires that all imported hazardous goods be reported to the health ministry.
"The decree was made at a time when deregulation and efficiency was not an important issue and its flaws were detected only recently," he said.
The announcement came amid growing complaints that the rule was no longer relevant because its implementation requires complicated bureaucratic procedures and enables corrupt practices, such as illegal levies.
Wisnu said that in the future all imports of "least hazardous" materials will pass through customs without the importers having to report to the ministry.
Instead, they will only be required to follow the ministry's guidelines ensuring the safety of workers who handle these substances, he added.
Only substances classified as "most dangerous" like certain chemicals and "very dangerous", such as inflammables and explosives, will have to be reported to the health ministry.
Although it is still in force, the 1983 decree has rarely been put into practice as importers of least dangerous substances did not bother to report to the government.
The government's plan to amend the decree was apparently prompted by last week's complaints from businessmen that they were required to file reports with the ministry when importing cotton.
Under the 1983 decree, cotton is categorized as among the goods least hazardous to health, the importation of which must be reported to the ministry.
Complaint
The Association of Indonesian Spinners filed a complaint with the ministry, arguing that the bureaucratic procedure was unnecessarily time consuming and allowed for the imposition of illegal fees at the customs office.
Association members also said their imported cotton -- mostly from Australia to supply textile industries here -- had already been inspected by the Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) office and that the exporters had issued phytosanitary reports, which guarantee the safety of the material.
In a statement made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday, the spinners' association welcomed the government's plan to amend the decree, saying that the policy was a show of goodwill toward the private sector on the part of the government.
Wisnu said the disputed 1983 decree was the only regulation issued by the health ministry which had not been updated to accommodate public demand. (pwn)