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Govt to finish simplifying import process soon
The government is seeking to finish trimming the list of prohibited and restricted imported goods soon, in a move to cut dwell time and speed up customs clearance at the country’s major import gates
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he government is seeking to finish trimming the list of prohibited and restricted imported goods soon, in a move to cut dwell time and speed up customs clearance at the country’s major import gates.
The current administration aims to slash the long list of the goods, locally known as lartas, such as rice, sugar and meat, to only 20.8 percent of the total 10,826 goods classified under Harmonized System Code in the Customs Tariff Book (BTKI) from 48.3 percent currently.
The process to shorten the list is 80 percent complete, with only two ministries, namely the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry left to expedite the goods under their authority, said Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution.
The listed imported goods are subject to checks by the customs authority at the customs entry points, namely airports and seaports. Importers must also seek permits issued by related institutions to bring the goods out of the customs gateways.
Meanwhile, goods exempted from the list can immediately be brought out of the points, but will be checked outside the customs territory under a process technically known as post-border monitoring.
“If the goods are not considered dangerous, they should not be stored in ports. If the goods are deemed dangerous, they should then be checked at the [customs] border,” Darmin said recently.
Each of the 18 government institutions, including ministries, were set to issue their own decrees as a legal basis to exempt a number of goods from the lartas list, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said. Relevant institutions were expected to finish shortening the list by early February, she added.
A wide range of goods, including forestry products, products under the auspice of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), such as cosmetics, health supplements, processed foods and processed horticulture products have been excluded from the list since late last year.
A number of other items, including steel and iron products, are set to follow suit starting from Feb. 1.
In the long term, slashing the prohibited and restricted imported goods would help cut dwell time, resulting in cost-savings as well as improved efficiency for importers, said Heru.
“If all the requirements are fulfilled [by importers], the goods can be immediately directed to the warehouses,” he said.
Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association (IISIA) executive director Hidayat Triseputro voiced concerns of some of the group members on whether the list amendment, particularly iron and steel products, would lead to a decline in illegal import practices.
“Many members think there is still a lot of illegal steel entering [Indonesia] with the existing regulation, yet the government wants to relax the [prevailing] regulation,” he wrote in a text message on Thursday.
