JAKARTA. The government has earmarked Rp 579.42 billion (US$44.81 million) in subsidies to be given to certain domestic manufacturers to assist them importing 18 categories of raw materials, an official says.
“The policy is aimed at boosting the domestic industry’s efficiency and competitiveness to meet growing local demand,” said Heru Pambudi, director of revenue and regulations at the Finance Ministry’s directorate general of customs and excise.
According to Heru, the categories include downstream chemical goods, resin goods, carpets and tapestries, bicycles, stationery, intravenous therapy equipment, large instruments, hospital instruments, motor vehicles, agricultural equipment, ship repair tools and parts, cacao, fodder, electronic components, optical fiber cables, steam turbine power plants and smart cards.
To access the assistance, a manufacturer must prove that the raw materials needed are unavailable domestically, or are available but do not meet their demands or specifications, Heru added.
On the other hand, Heru said the government would not subsidize goods that already had certain exemptions, such as zero percent import duties, temporary anti-dumping duties, security measure duties, reward duties and retaliation duties.
“Goods and materials imported by a company to be hoarded in bonded storage will also be exempt of this facility,” Heru said.
Heru said the directorate general had approved Rp 48.41 billion for the assistance and expected to reach at least 90 percent of the targeted Rp 600 billion in the state budget.
“The Finance Ministry has already issued regulations for the operation,” Heru added.
Between January and February, the country saw $24.16 billion worth of imports, a decrease of 15.83 percent compared to corresponding period last year, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
The decrease was mainly focused in oil and gas imports (45.28 percent) and non-oil and gas imports (6.32 percent).
BPS data also shows that China remains Indonesia’s largest source of imports, worth $5.2 billion, an increase of 5.44 percent on last year, while Japan comes next with $4.3 billion, a decrease of 15.22 percent compared to last year.
According to Heru, the government had set the customs and excise revenue target at Rp 195 trillion, an increase of 15 percent from the Rp 170 trillion of last year.
On excise revenue, the government set a target of Rp 145.74 trillion, comprising Rp 139.12 trillion from tobacco, Rp 6.46 trillion from ethyl alcohol and Rp 165.5 billion from liquor.
On the customs side, Heru said the government expected import duties to reach Rp 37.2 trillion this year, while export tariffs were set at Rp 12 trillion. (Grace D. Amianti)
