Trade Minister: Illegal Import Hinders Indonesia's Chance to Become Developed Country

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan or Zulhas said the ‘underground economy’ or illegal import hurts Indonesia’s chance to become a developed country. Many of the imported products entering the country are undocumented.

According to Zulhas, around 30 to 40 percent of imported products penetrate the Indonesian market through illegal means, barring the country from gaining tax revenue. This, the minister said, is the cause of Indonesia’s considerably small tax ratio.

“If our tax ratio and state revenue are small, how are we going to develop the country?” he said on Wednesday, August 21, 2024.

This condition prompted Zulhas and several relevant ministries, governmental agencies, and business associations to form a task force to supervise certain goods subject to import trade system. Ever since its conception three months ago, the task force has unveiled three findings on illegal imports. 

Zulhas said other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, and China became developed countries because they would not let illegally imported products enter their markets. ”How are we going to advance if we keep letting our country be flooded (with illegally imported products)?” he remarked

Zulhas said on Monday that his side would keep seizing illegally imported products from the market to support Prabowo Subianto’s economic targets. The president-elect targets an improvement in tax ratio and a 7-8 percent economic growth. 

The government must tackle the underground economy problem to achieve the targets. “If we successfully manage the issue, our state revenue and tax ratio will increase,” he concluded. 

HAN REVANDA PUTRA

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