From this mornings "The Jakarta Globe"........
Bali Bars Cry Foul Over Sweeping Alcohol Seizures
High-end hotels in Bali are demanding the return of thousands of bottles of liquor that were confiscated by authorities last week, saying the heavy-handed move could ruin the tourist island's international image.
Perry Markus, Bali secretary general of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), on Monday said that the crackdown by customs officials, who claimed the bottles had counterfeit tax labels, hurt the hospitality industry's credibility.
"We are worried that our customers may not trust us anymore," Perry said, adding that the inconvenience was compounded by the fact that the raid was conducted during the peak tourism season.
The liquor was confiscated on Thursday from at least 13 high-end hotels and restaurants across Bali, and Perry said the raids were unfair because businesses had not been warned about checking tax labels.
"We bought those bottles from distributors and we were not aware of the labels' origins," he said. "The customs office should have checked out the distributors first."
Liputan6.com reported that when officers examined the bottle labels under ultraviolet light, they did not find holographic markings that indicate the appropriate duties were paid.
Perry said that the raids could dramatically affect occupancy rates at hotels.
"Guests will not believe that a five-star hotel does not sell any alcoholic beverages," he said.
Republika.co.id quoted an officer from Bali's customs office, who refused to be named, as saying that similar raids would be carried out across Indonesia.
The official also said that the Bali busts were ordered by the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta.
Ketut Adiputra, vice chairman of the Bali Legislative Council, said the customs office had never instructed hotels and restaurants on how to ensure the tax labels were genuine. He also said that the spot checks on all liquor might have been prompted by the deaths of 25 people in Bali who drank tainted locally produced alcohol.
"There is a procedure for distributing and selling alcoholic beverages in Bali," he said. "[The customs officers] should have looked more carefully at whether the hotels and restaurants met the requirements or not."
Aulianty Fellina Rikal, the marketing and communications manager at the Hard Rock Hotel Bali, said that so far the raids had not severely impacted her hotel.
"We're lucky we still have stocks [of alcoholic beverages]," she said.
Aulianty said the raids were confusing because her hotel never had problems when buying liquor from its supplier.
"We're looking at this as a lesson to be more careful in picking suppliers," she said.
Perry said that PHRI would seek action from Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Finance.
"We don't want Bali's tourism industry to have a bad image because of this," he said.