T

he Trade Ministry is setting up a one-stop integrated online service to process trade permits in a bid to enhance transparency and the ease of doing trade.

Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said Wednesday that the breakthrough would ensure business players could obtain certainty about the requirements, length of time and cost of permit applications.

'€œAll licensing services will, in the first place, get similar treatment, governed by certainty and transparency,'€ he said on the sidelines of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Trade Ministry and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) to boost exports.

In recent years, Indonesia, which is beginning to gain momentum in the international trade arena, has faced complaints from its trading partners regarding some trade license permits, which they claim to be '€œcomplicated'€.

The United States, for instance, has requested consultations with Indonesia under the supervision of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding its rule that requires specific import permits to source horticulture and animal products overseas.

The new online service will cover business permits affecting domestic and foreign trade, standardization and consumer protection, as well as future exchange, such as export and import permits.

At present there are 159 permits required in the four trade sectors, but so far the ministry can process only 35 permits through electronic systems.

The ministry has targeted to expand the integrated service to 96 permits before the term of the current government ends in October, Lutfi said.

Simultaneously, the ministry was improving the licensing system for another 63 permits so that they could eventually be processed online as well, he added.

Apart from providing the one-stop online service, the ministry is also simplifying the reference book for exports and imports to avoid misinterpretation of the goods category, which is expected will be issued soon, according to Lutfi.

Until now, there have been several instances where exports and imports have been hampered by a misinterpretation of the category of goods as indicated by harmonized system (HS) codes.

The Indonesian Vegetable Oil Refiners Association (GIMNI), for instance, reported recently that shipments of palm oil were disrupted as current customs codes could not classify a number of palm-oil products, such as palm wax and heavy-end methyl ester, which were thereby declared inaccurate and attracted fines. This has discouraged exporters from shipping such products.

Lutfi further said that in line with the two efforts, the ministry would also improve the business climate, particularly by revising regulations that are less-applicable and considered business-unfriendly, citing Trade Ministry regulations on modern retail shops and franchise businesses.

Kadin chairman Suryo Bambang Sulisto said that high priority must be put on synchronizing the regulations passed by the central government and local administrations.