Producers Face Uncertainty over CPO Fund

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - CPO producers viewed that the government has haphazardly enforced the CPO fund policy, although the regulations have not properly disseminated yet across the country.

“The policy has been enforced, but the regulations are not disseminated yet,” Sahat Sinaga, the executive director of the Indonesian Vegetable Oil Industry Association, said in Jakarta on Thursday, July 23, 2015.

Sahat referred to two regulations issued by the Finance Ministry, namely regulation No. 133/2015 on CPO fund and regulation No. 136/2015 on export duty. According to Sahat, the two regulations, along with other two regulations issued by the Trade Ministry, have become the legal basis for the CPO fund enforced on July 16, 2015.

“The government said that the two regulations were signed on July 14. But to this date, we haven’t seen the physical record of the bills. We can’t even find it on the Internet,” Sahat claimed.

Meanwhile, Trade Ministry’s regulations, governing products imposed with duties and appointing Sucofindo as a surveyor of imported goods, had been released before the CPO fund was enforced.

As a result of the absence of the two regulations, exporters are facing business uncertainty. Togar Sitanggang, the secretary general of Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association, said that business owners had been discriminatively treated at ports. 

“The most notable cases faced by two oilcake exporters occurred in Sumatera and Kalimantan,” Togar said.

According to Togar, a company in Kalimantan was forced to pay export duty based on Finance Ministry’s Regulation No. 128/2013 although the company exported its products after the CPO fund was enforced. Under the new regulation, the export duty for palm oilcakes was set at US$1 per ton.

“But the local Custom and Excise Office admitted that they haven’t received the new regulation. So, the company had to pay US$18 per ton based on the old regulation,” Togar said.

Meanwhile, an oilcake exporter in Kalimantan was imposed with US$1 export duty as set by the new regulation. According to Togar the two cases occurred after the CPO fund was enforced.

“It means that the government failed to disseminate the regulation evenly across the country,” Togar concluded.

Togar clarified that exporters could apply for restitutions to get the difference of the export duty payment returned. 

“But the restitution process is lengthy, while we need the money to run the business,” he said.

PRAGA UTAMA