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Stricter flight baggage checks lauded by mall tenants
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Airport staff check a passenger's luggage at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten on Aug. 9. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
I
ndonesian Shopping Center Tenants Association (Hippindo) chairman Budihardjo Iduansjah has lauded the government's move to curb illegal imports through various means, including stricter flight baggage checks at airports and tighter controls on bulk import at seaports.
The group suspected that online shop owners frequently sourced their products abroad by brining them into Indonesia as baggage on their flights.
The offline tenants also accused e-ecommerce practitioners of being behind the weaker growth of their retail sales this year.
The Finance Ministry formed a high risk import control (PIBT) taskforce in July and has started enforcing tighter controls on incoming goods at seaports and airports.
Read also: Reassessing import tax ceiling“Offline retail sales went up while online sales dropped in August, when the government fully initiated its [PIBT] taskforce. So we can say there’s a correlation between weaker offline sales and online shopping habits,” he told The Jakarta Post recently.
“There has been rampant illegal importing of products [that are sold online]. So we urge customs and the excise directorate general to keep up the tight controls,” he added.
Based on Finance Ministry Regulation No. 188/2010 on imported goods, the ceiling for the import tax on goods purchased in other countries stands at US$250 for each individual and $1,000 for a family. (bbn)
