Indonesian government currently form a new regulation on delivery and receipt of goods which will be applied specifically in Batam. The Sales Manager of Indonesia Post Office for Batam Branch, Mr.Taufik, considered this new regulation aimed to prevent the tax leakage.

This policy refers to Decree Surat Keputusan No.Kep07/BC/2019 issued by Director General of Customs and Excise related to the flow of goods which shipped to outside Batam. This policy has been implemented since the beginning of February 2019. The new policy enacts detail and strict inspection by selective examinations in every particular objects, compared to previous policy which delivery and receipt of goods inspected by only X-Ray machine.

Besides examinations, according to the Head of Batam Branch Post Office, Mr. Wandi, the government also imposes a tax on senders for a destination above the value USD 75. Details of the calculation of the amount of tax are subject to the authority of The Indonesian Customs.

Meanwhile, based on The Indonesian Ministry of Finance through the Director General of Customs and Excise, Head of the Customs Sub-Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Mr. Deni Surjantoro said the policy is applied due to the Batam status as one of Free Trade Zone.

“It should be underlined that Batam is an overseas country. Well, actually Batam has been categorized as a Free Trade Zone for years. In common understanding, Batam is considered as an overseas area. Outside of the Indonesian customs area,” explained Mr.Deni.

Besides Batam, there is another location included as a Free Trade Zone, which is Sabang. Mr.Deni explained, the settlement of Batam and Sabang as a Free Trade Zone had been ratified since 2012, while the customs procedures in the region had been stipulated in PMK 120 / 2017. In a way, this had affected the accumulation of goods on the expedition since the inspection process took a longer time.

Source : Merdeka, Gatra, JawaPos

Picture credit : Maritim news