Recently, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance and the Customs Department (DJBC) unveiled a self-assessment plan for the importation of trade goods, empowering importers to furnish their own cargo shipment data and compute the payable import duties and taxes (PDRI). However, in cases where importers misreport the duty-paid price, leading to underpayment of import duties, they will incur fines of up to 1,000%. This administrative penalty primarily targets importers who declare values lower than the actual Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF).
Ascolani, the Director of the Customs Department at the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, underscored that such fines are designed to thwart and rectify misinformation, ensuring that importers do not elude taxes through price underreporting. He expressed the General Administration of Customs' aspiration for this administrative penalty to exert a dissuasive influence, safeguarding Indonesia's national fiscal revenue and domestic industries.
"Instances where the declared value of goods diverges from the actual value imperil national interests. Hence, stringent oversight and transparency measures are imperative to validate the accuracy of declared values," affirmed Askola, Director of Customs Administration at the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.
Per Article 6, the penalty rate correlates with the degree of underpayment of import duties, spanning from a minimum of 100% to a maximum of 1000%. Precisely, the penalty scheme for underpayment of import duties is delineated as follows: underpayment of import duties up to 50% incurs a penalty equal to 100% of the total underpayment; for discrepancies exceeding 50% but not surpassing 100%, the penalty amounts to 125% of the total sum; for discrepancies exceeding 100% up to 150%, the penalty stands at 150% of the total sum; discrepancies exceeding 150% up to 200% incur a penalty of 175% of the total sum, and so forth.
This initiative epitomizes the Indonesian government's commitment to tax compliance and trade equity, while also transmitting a resolute regulatory message to importers, underscoring the imperative of fairness and transparency in trade endeavors.