Ship material duties lifted

Ship material duties lifted

JAKARTA (JP): The government has lifted duties on imports of
299 kinds of materials used for ship repairs and maintenance in a
bid to support the development of the country's shipbuilding
industry.

Agus Haryanto, spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, said
yesterday that the Minister of Finance's Decree No. 192/1994 on
the lifting of duties were retroactive to April 1.

He said the 299 materials used to be subject to import duties
of five percent to 40 percent.

The materials include hydraulic motors for diesel engines, air
compressors, heat exchangers, refrigerating plants, electric
motors and fixed fire extinguishing systems.

Haryanto said that materials which are used for the
construction of ship-related facilities, have been exempted from
the duties.

"But the new exemption is not eligible for facilities for
sports boats," he said.

The reason is because the two kinds of vessels are categorized
as non-productive and make no contribution to economic growth, he
said.(fhp)