The fiscal incentives have been in the form of exemptions from import duties and excise as well as tax levies.
"The Ministry of Finance, through Customs and Excise, has provided various fiscal and procedural incentives to restore the decline in economic performance due to the impact of the coronavirus," director of International and Inter-Agency Customs, DJBC, Syarif Hidayat, said on Wednesday in Jakarta.
The incentives include Rp602.61 billion, provided in the form of exemption from import duties and excise, value added tax (VAT), luxury sales tax (PPnBM), and income tax (PPh) (under Article 22), on imports from March 13 to May 19, 2020.
Furthermore, fiscal incentives of Rp882.63 billion were granted in the form of exemption from income tax (Article 22) to companies using Bonded Zone (KB) facilities and ease of import-export destinations (KITE) from 1 April to 26 April, 2020.
In addition, the import facility also provided a Certificate of Origin (SKA) for ASEAN partner countries.
On average, the number of imports using SKA compared to the total foreign exchange imports in 2020 was in the range of 33 percent.
Food commodity imports, included in the list of 10 imported commodities using SKA, comprised sugar and sugar confectionery originating from Australia, China, and India.
The facilities were used by importers through several schemes, including grant items for foundations or social institutions, in accordance with Regulation of the Minister of Finance (PMK) 70, the scheme for goods imported by Central and Regional Governments (PMK 171), COVID-19 countermeasures, according to appendix letter A (PMK 34), and non-facilities.
The total value of goods imported for handling the coronavirus, which received fiscal facilities until March 19, 2020, reached Rp2.74 trillion, with the most-imported goods being masks, totaling 106.5 million pieces, which were sourced from a number of countries.
"Customs is committed to serving the public 24 hours, seven days, and providing various services through facilities and relaxation of policies in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to carry out its supervisory function," Syarif Hidayat said. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Reporter: Dewa Ketut, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
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