The Government Proposed To Involve The Community To Monitor Illegal Import Activities

Illegal imported items illustration (Photo: unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Retail Entrepreneurs Association (Aprindo) proposes that the government must carry out inherent supervision of illegal products that are increasingly prevalent by involving the community.

"It is very simple how many customs personnel, customs employees who can carry out surveillance for 278,000,000 residents and 17,000 islands. It is simple to be able to cover up rat ports, the closure of loading and unloading at sea is the inherent supervision that includes the community," said Aprindo Chairman Roy N Mandey at a press conference in Jakarta, quoted Friday, January 19.

Roy said that communities such as fishermen can be witnesses who directly see the process of loading and unloading illegal goods at rat ports and illegal smuggling of imported goods to ships in the middle of the sea compared to limited number of customs officers.

Later, people who report on unlawful activities can be rewarded as a form of appreciation and trigger to be more observant in finding illegal import activities.

"Who gives rewards, yes, the government, because they don't pay when someone reports corruption, someone reports there is a demolition of cargo in the middle of the sea. It's not paid, right, they are reported to have entered from the rat port, but they were given a reward," said Roy.

According to Roy, there are three types of goods that damage the products of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) or local products that are widely circulated in Indonesia. First, used products, used clothing, use apparel. Then goods that have been returned by retailers or return products.

Second, illegal imported products or illegal goods that enter through containers and unofficial ports that are not recorded by customs. Third, counter-fake products or goods whose labels are affixed with certain trademarks but not original goods.

Seeing the rampant illegal imported goods, Roy also asked the government to be more stringent in supervising the entry of these items.

"The (illegal product problem) should have been resolved, but, right now it's not. And this is what makes it difficult to answer because customs say, right, we are already at the border, we already have to monitor the sea and so on. But, how long and how much can be done," he said.

Not only is it tightening the entry of legal imported products which he assesses are increasingly complicated along with the plan to implement Permendag Number 36 of 2023 concerning the restructuring of import policies by shifting import supervision from post-border to border and relaxation or ease of import of goods sent by Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) which will take effect in March.

"What we regret is why it's not precisely what was done first, cleaned first, please. It was removed from Indonesian soil first, please, because later it will turn off local MSME products and products that are indeed in outlet stores, both modern retailers or traditional shops," he added.