JAKARTA —
The problem with passenger luggage has gone viral again after a video was circulated uploaded by the social media account of the Customs Supervision and Services Office (KPPBC) Type Middle Customs (TMP) B Kualanamu Airport. In the video, it is explained that passengers who want to travel abroad must declare their luggage so that when they return to their homeland, these items are not subject to tax.
Director General of Customs and Excise Askolani provided an explanation regarding the rules for carrying luggage for passengers abroad.
The regulation in question is Minister of Finance Regulation Number 203/PMK.04/2017 of 2017 concerning Provisions for the Export and Import of Goods Carried by Passengers and Crew of Transport Facilities.
This policy went viral and was widely criticized by the public. This is because netizens who want to go abroad must first report their belongings to customs and excise, so that when they return to their homeland, their goods are not subject to tax. Many people think that this procedure is quite complicated.
However, Askolani said that this policy was intended to simplify and speed up services for people returning to their homeland after traveling from abroad. He explained that the items that must be reported refer to items that tend to be expensive, such as cameras, cellphones, laptops, iPads and so on. Even though this regulation has been in place since 2017, it is said that this regulation is very rarely used by passengers.
“But so far, this policy has been minimally used by passengers, because in general we, by not recording it, still provide convenience by accelerating service to passengers,” said Askolani at the Press Conference of our APBN at the Ministry of Finance Building, Jakarta, Monday (25/3).
FILE – Pilgrims who want to perform the Umrah carry their suitcases and belongings at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, February 27 2020. (AP/Tatan Syuflana)
So far, explained Askolani, this policy is often used by business people who want to carry out exhibition activities abroad to sell their products. They often record and report what items they want to take abroad considering that their luggage must be quite large.
“So when you arrive home, it will simplify and speed up services at the airport. Of course, this communication is very important and we also educate other business actors and that these goods are not subject to import duties or VAT so that it really means that the goods are imported from within the country to support their business activities internationally and the entry is then made easier and accelerated,” he explained.
On the same occasion, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani also spoke. He is grateful for suggestions and criticism from the public regarding every government policy. Regarding the onion policy carried by passengers, the Minister of Finance said that there was a lack of socialization regarding this rule, which caused an uproar in the community, even though in fact this rule was actually to make things easier for passengers.
“Actually, the aim is to make things easier, but perhaps the communication needs to be simplified and clarified so that it doesn't cause various reactions which then become disturbing,” said Minister of Finance Sri.
FILE – Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani. (Made Nagi/Pool via REUTERS)
Therefore, Minister of Finance Sri asked the Directorate General of Customs and Excise to carry out clearer outreach so that the public better understands what type of passenger the policy is intended for.
“For this reason, I have asked customs for the luggage, the aim of which is actually to help friends who carry out activities or events abroad who bring a lot of goods, even including MSMEs who hold exhibitions. There are often complications in bringing the goods back to Indonesia,” he explained.
“That is actually the aim of the PMK more than that. Later it will be further straightened out and clarified so that it does not become a burden and does not make Indonesia an outlier. Meanwhile, if friends from customs carry out and execute policies and other ministries, we will also continue to coordinate so that the public understands the true aims of the policy and then does not cause unrest or various negative reactions. “But we are grateful for the input,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, public policy observer Trubus Rahadiansyah said this policy was not appropriate to implement. The reason, according to him, is that the procedure is considered quite complicated and burdensome for passengers.
“But what is clear is that in my opinion this policy has negative excesses in that it burdens people, making people complicated by the bureaucracy. “By burdening this person, I see that there is a gap for unscrupulous customs officials to behave corruptly,” said Trubus.
According to him, before making a policy, it is better for the government to conduct a study first involving public participation so that it does not cause strong criticism from the public.
“So, there was also a question about jastip (delivery services, ed.), that was actually a small issue, whereas we had problems, for example, a lot of smuggled goods were entering Indonesia and actually what had to be handled was not a jastip problem. Why do products have to be reported first? “This is what, apart from hampering the investment climate, also hampers many things and is actually counterproductive,” he concluded. (gi/ab)