Surveyor Indonesia to verify imports under EPA

Novia D. Rulistia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 07/10/2008 10:14 AM  |  Business

PT Surveyor Indonesia has been chosen as the sole verifier for imported goods under the User Specific Duty Free Scheme (USDFS) within the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

"The company will be responsible for verifying whether the imported products fall in the USDFS category and for checking whether the importers are legitimate," Industry Ministry secretary-general Agus Tjahajana said.

The USDFS applies zero duty for products imported by users involved in manufacturing of automotive spare parts, electronic products, construction machinery, heavy equipment and components for petroleum and gas production and electricity generation.

Agus explained such importers must undergo three verification processes before and after importing goods. The first step includes examining legal aspects such as the business permit, the quantity and the type of the products and the importers' manufacturing production capacity.

The second step covers the examination of imports comprising mostly raw materials, waste products and rejected or secondhand products.

The third verification process looks at the company's production performance before and after it enjoys USDFS benefits.

The ministry's director for metal industry Putu Suryawirawan said the administrative procedures for importing goods under the USDFS would require a maximum of 15 days.

"Importers need a maximum of 10 days to get a statement letter as a USDFS importer and need about five more days to get an approval letter from the director general of customs and excise," he said.

Indonesia has opened up 92.5 percent of its 11,171 tariff positions, 58 percent of which qualified immediately for the zero percent duty since the EPA was implemented on July 1. The remaining tariff posts will be gradually reduced during three to 10 years.

Although Indonesia and Japan have agreed to make thousands of import duty cuts, including in the automotive sector, Toyota Astra Motor president director Johnny Darmawan said the company still imported products from Japan using the previous tax regime and did not yet have the timeframe for the new tax reductions.

"The EPA is ratified but there are still other protocols to follow. Every company has to register their products and get approvals," he said.

Toyota head of communications Achmad Rizal said the company awaited news from suppliers in Japan on their compliance with the new requirements.

Indonesia imports 3 million tons of special steel annually, about a third of which is from Japan.

The EPA is the first of its kind for Indonesia and the sixth for Japan. Japan previously signed EPA-like agreements with Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, Chile and Thailand.(mri)

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