JAKARTA. Directorate General of Customs discovered irregularities at the payment of luxurious tax of imported car Ford Everest by PT Ford Motor Indonesia (Ford Indonesia).

Ford Indonesia imports two types of Ford Everest car, namely seven-seat car and ten-seat car. Government Regulation No 12/2006 on Luxurious Tax stipulates 20% of tax rate for seven-seat car and 10% of tax rate for ten to fifteen-seat car.

All this time, public only recognize Ford Everest as a seven-seat car, not ten-seat car. Then came allegations that Ford Indonesia actually imports seven-seat car under the import license of ten-seat car.

Head of Sub Information and Communication at Directorate General of Customs Denny Surjantoro said that Ford Indonesia allegedly has violated customs regulation by providing mismatch information about the imported goods. “We are auditing Ford Indonesia”, Denny said.

A source of KONTAN said that originally Ford Everest is a seven-seat car. However, the car is then modified to a ten-seat car by changing the composition of the back seats. The modified car is then imported by PT Ford Indonesia, and subsequently the company sells the car by giving two options to customer: seven-seat or ten-seat.

However, Communication Director of Ford Motor Indonesia Lea Kartika Candra said that Ford Motor Indonesia has fulfilled customs requirements. The explanation is well-though-out on the grounds that both seven-seat and ten-seat types of Ford Everest have been registered at Ministry of Industry.

However, Director for Maritime, Transportation, and Defense at Ministry of Industry Yan Sibarang Tandiele admitted that the ministry did not check the car’s physical condition during the car test type. “We conduct the test type based on the information provided by applicant”, Yan said.

Similar with Ministry of Industry, Denny also said that Directorate General of Customs did not check the imported car’s physical condition due to the importer’s good reputation. “There will be dwelling time if we check one-by-one the physical condition of the cars”, he said.

Based on Kontan simulation, if the price of a unit of seven-seat Ford Everest is IDR200 million, the importer has to pay 20% or IDR40 million of luxurious tax for every car. Meanwhile, if a unit of ten-seat Ford Everest is IDR200 million, Ford Everest only has to pay 10% or IDR20 million of luxurious tax.

Therefore, Ford Indonesia can secure IDR20 million for every unit of car from the difference of the luxurious tax rate. Based on the simulation, if Ford Indonesia imports 894 units of cars, the company can reduce the amount of luxurious tax should be paid by IDR17.9 million.

Head of Sub Information and Communication at Directorate General of Customs Denny Surjantoro said that the auditing process over the case will take six months to complete.

(MUHAMMAD FARID/Translator)

Editor: Dupla Kartini