RI export-import procedures queried

RI export-import procedures queried

JAKARTA (JP): The United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) recommends that the Indonesian government
simplify its export and import procedures.

A recent study by UNCTAD's Management Consultant for
Indonesia, R.N. Shipvuri, concluded that 36 government and
private agencies are presently involved in the country's import
and export activities, requiring importers and exporters to
process 121 documents.

Among the government authorities and agencies which contribute
to the disarray of procedures are the customs and excise office,
the port administration, the stevedoring and freight-forwarding
firms, insurance companies, guarantors and banking agencies.

Antara news agency quoted Shipvuri as saying that the long
line of procedures made the movement of goods from one point of
to another a "very arduous" job.

To make matters worse, he added, most of the paperwork is done
by different agencies.

He pointed out that the situation limited the government's
ability to boost Indonesia's trade and economy. He suggested that
the government work harder to reduce red tape so that it does not
pose an obstacle to economic growth.

Shipvuri, who is also head of the technical advisory team of
the National Trade Facilitation Program established by the
Ministry of Trade and Industry, offered a three-step solution to
the problem.

First, the government must identify the bottlenecks occurring
in import-export procedures and design solutions. Second, they
must systematically rationalize trade and information procedures
as well as documentation inflow. Third, reduction of the costs of
trade procedures can be accomplished by increasing the use of
information technology and electronic databases. (pwn)