“I do not agree with the increases as I do not believe that the additional fees will be used for proper aims. By now, I don’t even know which institution triggered the policy and what the aim is,” Ali, 51, told The Jakarta Post while extending his car’s vehicle registration certificates (STNK) at the Samsat’s South Jakarta branch.

The four-story building was densely packed on Friday with hundreds of motorists waiting to extend their documents. It was a chaotic scene in the Samsat’s two-wheel section, as there was no line or security officers.

Meanwhile, in the four-wheel section, only three of the six counters were open. “Look at how many officers are serving us and compare that to the number of visitors. The officials must know how many visitors to expect daily,” Ali said, adding that he had to take a day off of work day to extend his documents. “With the fee increases, I hope the process [of extending vehicle documents] speeds up. Services should also be improved, not just facilities,” he added.

Starting on Jan. 6, motorists nationwide must pay double or triple the current fees to obtain new STNK and vehicle ownership documents (BPKB) following the issuance of a government regulation on non-tax revenues on Dec. 6,

To obtain or extend an STNK for two-wheel vehicles, motorists now have to pay Rp 100,000 (US$7.48), a 100 percent increase from the previous Rp 50,000. The fee for STNK issuance and extensions for cars has increased from Rp 75,000 to Rp 200,000. Obtaining or extending a BPKB now costs Rp 225,000, from Rp 80,000 previously for two-wheelers, and Rp 375,000 from Rp 100,000 for cars.

Misrianto, a resident of Medan, North Sumatra, also complained about the new policy. He submitted his documents one day before the fee increases took effect. “I already paid Rp 253,000, but they told me to pay Rp 439,000 when I was about to get my new documents today,” Misrianto said.

Long lines of visitors were seen at numerous Samsats across the country, including in Semarang, Central Java. Semarang resident Yulianto was up early to take care of his STNK on Thursday before the fee increases became effective.

The fee revisions, stipulated in a 2016 government regulation (PP), came after seven years of no adjustments. The government says this is part of its efforts to increase its nontax revenue (PNBP) this year.

“The rate adjustment is for service improvement because 92 percent of non-tax revenue from the National Police is used for the institution itself. This means that the money will go back to the people,” the Finance Ministry’s director general of budget, Askolani, said on Friday.

He said the fee adjustments were initiated by former National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti in 2015, followed by discussions between the Finance Ministry and the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister.

The government is aiming for a 2.04 percent increase to Rp 250 trillion in non-tax revenue in the 2017 state budget from last year’s target of Rp 245 trillion.

The projected Rp 1.7 trillion worth of additional funds in the state coffered from the fee adjustments is part of its aggressive efforts to seek non-tax revenue this year.

Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said the fee adjustments were inevitable to ensure better services from the police, following increasing costs of public service in the past years.

“Non-tax revenue will also be used to provide better service through an online system,” Tito said.

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Grace D. Amianti, Suherdjoko and Apriadi Gunawan contributed to this story from Jakarta, Semarang and Medan. 

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