Sutiyoso sets deadline for unlicensed billboards

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso has set a deadline three-weeks from now for advertisement agencies to arrange permits for their unlicensed billboards.

"If (the agencies) fail to arrange the permits within three weeks, we will remove the billboards," Sutiyoso announced on Wednesday following a hearing with the City Council on the bylaw draft on advertisements.

Sutiyoso mentioned as examples cigarette billboards across the city.

"Many of them have been erected without permits," he stated.

Jakarta Revenue Agency head Deden Supriadi, whose office will decide which billboards are to be removed, shifted the blame of ubiquitous unlicensed billboards in the city to poor coordination among city agencies.

At least three agencies are involved in issuing permits: the Construction Supervision and Regulation Agency for the issuance of building permits (IMBs) for billboards; the Jakarta Planning Agency for the location permit; and the Jakarta Revenue Agency for advertisement tax.

"Officially, there are only 163 locations for billboards that are regulated in a gubernatorial decree, which involves two-year permits," Deden told The Jakarta Post and Indopos daily on Wednesday.

"Don't ask me why there are billboards at other locations (not designated for billboards). Please, ask the Jakarta Planning Agency why they issue permits," he added.

Many blank billboards can be found in the city, such as along Jl. Gatot Subroto, where there are three in front of Crowne Plaza Hotel, one near the Kuningan I tollgate and two near the Senayan tollgate.

There are also three blank billboards on Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan and Boulevard Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

Deden denied that his office did nothing to regulate unlicensed billboards or blank billboards, claiming that last year, the agency removed 500 billboards in the city, mostly due to expired permits.

"The problem is that we don't have enough money to dissemble blank billboards, which could cost us up to Rp 30 million (US$3,333)," he argued.

In addition to advertisement tax, the revenue agency receives a meager amount from ad agencies as a tax payment guarantee. The agency has proposed that the guarantee be increased to 10 percent of the advertising tax.

The city administration also plans to introduce sterner regulations on advertising as part of efforts to increase city revenue.

This year, the administration aims to secure Rp 110 billion in revenue from advertising, a 10 percent increase from last year's Rp 100 billion.

Revenue from advertising has significantly increased over the past three years from Rp 60 billion in 2001 and Rp 90 billion in 2002.