Undue payment of exit tax

I wish to bring to the attention of the public the adventure I had, and am still a having, regarding the payment of exit tax, so nobody, hopefully, will incur the same problem.

On Sept. 22, 1999 the government approved a decree (Peraturan Pemerintah 78 Tahun 1999) regarding the payment of exit tax. The decree stipulates that exit tax is not due for children below 12 years of age. The decree moreover stipulates that in case of undue payment after Sept. 22, 1999, the money will be reimbursed, but it does not say how.

On Oct. 4, 1999, and not aware of this decree, I went to Ngurah Rai airport to accompany my wife, her child of 2 and my child of 10 who were leaving to Europe. I went to the exit tax booth and paid the requested Rp 3 million (Rp 1 million for each person including the underage kids). The supposedly experienced attendant did not inform me that the tax for the kids was not payable anymore since there was a new decree, something that he should have known very well because the decree had been issued just a few days before.

A few days later I found out through your newspaper that the decree on young children had been approved and immediately enforced, therefore I obtained a copy of the regulation that stipulates clearly that in case someone has paid the exit tax unduly, the amount will be reimbursed.

So I sent my secretary to the Tax Directorate in Denpasar with the receipts of the undue payments and she came back, after spending one entire morning in the offices, with a list of documents I was supposed to submit in order to receive the reimbursement.

The documents are: Family card, marriage certificate, taxpayer registered number of the children parents, this year's income tax of the children's parents and of the previous year. At the end of the list the Tax Directorate employee added: In order to be sure that all this is enough, the parents themselves should come to the office.

Now, my question to any reader is whether they can illuminate me, or better still, the ministry of finance and its employees in the tax department, on the following: Why on earth should I be requested to submit so many documents which aren't relevant? Should I spend lots of time trying to collect the said documents? Should I be forced to meet with the tax authorities in order to "clarify the matter", if the matter is already so clear and straight forward?

I have unduly paid exit tax for two kids, because of a tax department's mistake; the proof is the original receipt that I have in my hands and this should be enough to be reimbursed.

I wait for an answer from the authorities, and invite all other parents that have paid exit tax after Sept. 22, 1999, to ask the tax authorities for an immediate reimbursement, as immediate as when the tax was collected.

GIUSEPPE VERDACCHI

Denpasar, Bali