To boost national revenues from the service sector, the Trade Minister has issued a new regulation that requires the use of national sea vessels and national insurance services for exports of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and coal and the import of rice and state good procurements.
“Through this enhanced regulation of the trade minister, the trade ministry hopes that the role of the national sea transportation in exports and imports would rise, and at the same time encourage the development of the national shipyard industry,” Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said in a press release of his ministry issued on the weekend (17/4).
The Regulation of the Trade Minister Number 40 of 2020 on Arrangement Regarding the Use of the National Sea Transportation and National Insurance in Exports and Imports of Specific Goods, however, still opened room for foreign sea transportation companies in the exports and imports of those goods, as the obligation to use national sea transportation was only applicable for sea transportation of up to 15,000 dead weight tonnage (dwt.)
“With the role of foreign transportation companies still being open, it is hoped that export and import activities of those goods can still proceed smoothly,” the minister said.
The Director General of Foreign Trade of the Trade Ministry, Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana said that national sea transportation companies that operates vessels of up to 15,000 dwt must report data on their use to the trade ministry electronically, through INATRADE, before the vessels berth at Indonesian ports.
All exporters and importers of the specified goods, must report the realization of their import-export through INATRADE, and must also mention the cost and freight as well as data on their insurance policy when filing their Notice of Export of Goods (PEB) or Notice of Import of Goods (PIB.)
The obligation to use national sea transportation was actually already stipulated in Regulation of the Trade Minister Number 82 of 2017 on Arrangements Regarding the Use of the National Sea Transportation and National Insurance in Exports and Imports of Specific Goods, that was later revised several times, the latest of which by Regulation of the Trade Minister Number 80 of 2018.
The obligation to use national insurance services had already been effective as of February 1, 2019, while the implementation on the obligation to use national sea transportation was only to start to become effective on May 1, 2020.