It Was Called The Cause Of Many Containers Piles At The Port, This Is The Response Of The Ministry Of Industry's Spokesperson

Containers (Photo: Antara)

The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) has opened its voice regarding container buildup containing various kinds of goods at the ports of Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak. Previously, the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) said that the cause of the container buildup was constraints on technical approval as a condition for obtaining import permits.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry Febri Hendri Antoni Arif said that his party was not directly related to container buildup in several ports. In accordance with the duties of the Ministry of Industry in fostering domestic industries, he said that his party is obliged to ensure that industrial raw materials are met.

"In response to the statement of the Ministry of Trade which stated that the cause of the container buildup was the problem with technical approval as a condition for obtaining import permits, we convey that the Ministry of Industry is not directly related to container buildup in several ports," said Febri in his official statement, Monday, May 20.

Febri also denied that the length of issuance of technical approval (Pertek) at the Ministry of Industry was the cause of the buildup condition. He said the procedure for submitting pertek only took 5 days. The process is also running electronically.

"The issuance of technical considerations is set at the latest within five working days after the application and document requirements are received in full and correct," he said.

He explained, as of May 17, 2024, the Ministry of Industry received 3,338 Pertek applications for 10 commodities. Of the 3,338 have issued 1,755 Pertek, 11 applications have been rejected and 1,098 have been returned to be completed.

Meanwhile, based on the coordination meeting (rakor) on Thursday, May 16, data was obtained showing the difference in the number of Pertek and import approvals (PI) issued by the Ministry of Trade. Febri also gave an example, out of a total of 1,086 Pertek issued for iron or steel commodities, alloy steel and derivative products, PI which was issued in the number of 821 PI.

"The volume of the difference gap is approximately around 24,000 container counts," he said.

In addition, until now the Ministry of Industry also does not know the contents of these containers. Even in the previous coordination meeting, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise also conveyed information about his ignorance whether the container is owned by a company with the Introduction Number of General Importers or the Introduction Number of Producer Importers.

As for the provisions of the legislation, every imported item that is included in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, especially goods that fall into the category of prohibition and/or restriction (lantas), must have an import permit document. To obtain these import permits, one of them is to have technical considerations issued by the Ministry of Industry.

Thus, said Febri, imported goods that fall into the category of lartas should not be able to enter the customs area before having import licensing documents, such as the current buildup.

In order to carry out its duties and functions to protect the domestic industry, the Ministry of Industry must maintain a balance between domestic production and its market.

"We are not allergic to imported goods as long as these items are needed domestically, while domestic production is not sufficient. Thus, the Lartas policy is directed not to interfere with domestic industries," he added.