Airlines Call for Avtur Payment in Rupiah

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sunu Widyatmoko, the president director of PT AirAsia Indonesia, has asked the government to assertively enforce the obligation to use the rupiah in domestic transaction since the aviation turbine fuel (avtur) payments to Pertamina for international flights were still using the US dollar. 

Sunu suggested that the use of local currency must be increased to ease the depreciation of the rupiah. 

“Therefore, in relation to the rupiah's depreciation, the government must enforce payments in the rupiah,” Sunu said on Thursday, March 12, 2015. 

Pertamina spokesperson Wianda A. Pusponegoro admitted that the state oil company billed the aviation turbine fuel for international flights in US dollars. The policy referred to the general provision for companies selling international products, although article 21 of the Law on Currency requires all transactions in Indonesia to use the rupiah. 

“This is a matter of common practice in the industry,” Wianda told Tempo. 

Earlier, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said that he would issue a warning for Pertamina for using the US dollar in transactions. According to Wianda, Pertamina will consider Bambang’s recommendations.

“We’ll look into it. But we wouldn’t want to disregard government’s recommendation,” Wianda said.

KHAIRUL ANAM